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UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


SCHOOL  OF  LAW 
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THE 

BENCH  AND  BAR 


OF 


SARATOGA   COUNTY; 


OR, 


Reminiscences    of  the  Judiciai^y, 


AND 


SCENES  IN  THE  COURT  ROOM, 

From  the  Organization  of  the  County  to  tlio  present  time. 


BY    E.  R.  MANN,  ATTORNEY-AT-LAW. 


BALLSTON,  N.  T.: 

WATERBURY    &    INMAN 

1876. 


T 


Kntered  accordiii(?  to  act  of  Conffress,  in  the  year  1876.  by  E.  \l.  MANN,  in  the 
office  of  the' Librarian  of  Con^regK,  at  Washin^on. 


•'^V 

^  9'^iii' 


TO 

HOJ^.  GEORGE  G.  SCOTT, 

THE   SOLE    SURVIVING    JUDGE   OF   THE   COURT   OF   COMMON   PLEAS; 

AND   TO 

HOJJ.  AUGUSTUS   (BOCKES, 

THE   FIRST  JUDGK  OF  THE  COUNTY  COURT  :   GENTLEMEN  WHO  HAVE 

WORN    ITS   ERMINE  UNSULLIED,  AND  WHO   HAVE   REFLECTED 

HONOR   ON   THEIR   NATnTE    COUNTY  BY   THEIR 

INTEGRITY   IN   OFFICIAL   STATIONS, 

THIS  BKCORD   OF  THE 

BENCH  AND  BAR  OF  SARATOGA  COUNTY 

IS   KESPECTFULLY   DEDICATED. 


783875 


'»Jt. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Ackart  v  Lansings 234 

A.dams  v  LeRoy 242 

Allen,  Dr.  T.  E^,  trial  of 180 

Anecdotes,  Incidents,  etc. 

The  old  crier 337 

Judge  Kent  and  the  mineral  spring 338 

Van  Antwerp's  ^/i. /a 339 

Sheriffs  in  the  (*ldea  time 340 

Judge  Cook's  withdravval  from  the  bar 341 

The  Chancellor  at  Pine  Grove 341 

Walworth's  temperance  principles 343 

Admission  to  the  (!ouri  of  chancer}' 342 

Judge  Cowen's  retentive  memory 343 

Judge  Cowen's  c»urt  habits 344 

Gossips'  tales  no  slander 345 

Judge  Hand  and  the  deaf  juror _.  346 

The  one  sound  minded  juror '  347 

Not  a  classical  judge 347 

Judge  Crane  and  the  witness 348 

Father  in  law,  or  brother  in-law 349 

Too  wide  a  margin 350 

Homeopathic  brains 350 

A  laconic  epistle 351 

Judge  Hay  and  the  dam  suit 351 

^Judge  James  and  the  Irishman 352 

Morris  English  on  the  cider  question 353 

Tayler  Lewis'  lore  for  his  old  home 354 

A  defendant's  opinion  of  Judge  Cady 355 

A  fraud  in  law  is  a  fraud  in  fact 356 

Where  did  the  witness  go 359 

Varney's  dog  suit 360 

Judge  Thompson  and  the  veterans 361 

Birth  place  of  Hon.  John  Cramer 363 

Anecdotes  of  Hon.  Henry  Smith 363 

A  secret  exposed 365 

Maxwell's  colored  jury 366 

Legal  chiregraphy 367 


6  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Anti-rent  murder  trial. 165 

Ai  peudix 380 

Baker  v  Powel'l,  sherifT 209 

Ballston,  indictment  of  its  highway  commissioners 18 

Beekman  v  Granger 105 

Bennett,  Benjamin,  trial  and  executien  of 64 

Benton  t  Village  of  Saratoga  Springs 235 

Bogart  V  King 107 

Bradshaw  v  Callaghan 52 

Brown,  George,  a  singular  alibi 80 

Burning  of  the  court  house 39 

Burr  and  liamillon 18 

Carpenter  v  Hodgman  and  Clapp 233 

Carson  League  trials 153 

Chase  v  Saratoga  county 208 

Changing  the  ceunty  seat 46 

Cheesbrough  v  Tompkins 224 

Chipman  v  Palmer,  et.  al " 243 

Circuit  and  Common  Pleas  judges,  disagreements  of 73 

Circuit  judges  of  Saratoga  county 262 

Civil  actions  under  the  code 184 

Chirke,  Jolm  S.,  and  the  Snake  Hill  bank 83,  151 

Clark  and  Kice  v  Lyon 211 

Clement  v  Cohn 244 

Clothier  v  Adriance,  et.  al 223 

Cole,  Fones  or  John  A.  Murrell — a  query 44 

Conspiracy  against  William  P.  Green 74 

Cook  V  Sheplierd 109 

Cooper  V  Greeley  and  McElrath 122 

County  clerks 319 

Court  of  Conmion  Pleas 94 

Court  of  Sessions 78 

Court  house  at  (Jourt  House  Hill 23 

Cramer  V  Martin" and  Southwick 109 

Darrow  v  Excelsior  Life  Insurance  Co 240 

Deyoe  v  Village  of  Saratoga  Springs 234 

District  attorneys 304 

Dougherty,  VVdliam,  trial  f«r  murder 161 

Dunn  V  Luther,  et.  al 228 

Fellows,  et.  al.  v  Emperor,  et.  al 193 

Fitch  V  Baldwin 59 

First  courts  of  the  county 13 

First  National  Bank  of  Ballston  Spa  v  Insurance  Co.  of  North 

America 235 

Ford  V  Monroe 114 


CONTENTS.  7 

PAGE. 

Ford  V  Rowley 237 

Fowler's  law  sclioel 372 

Francisco,  Barney,  the  borse  thief 167 

FullertOD  v  Viall"  et.  al 199 

Glasser,  Joseph,  trial  for  murder 154 

Grand  jury's  protest  against  briber}'^  at  the  polls 168 

Harris  v  Thompson 187 

Harvey,  Charles,  trial  for  grand  larr<*ny 160 

Hart  V  Bush 236 

Harerly  v  French Ill 

Hickey,  M.  H  ,  his  banishment 165 

Holmes  v  Smith 256 

How  deputy  sheriff  Jennings  secured  his  prisoners 49 

Humes  v  Williams 221 

Huyck,  C.  S.,  tried  for  manslaugater 163 

Hynde,  Tohmas,  trial  for  arson 146 

Johnson,  Charles,  conviction  for  rape 163 

Judges  distrustful  of  their  powers 33 

Ketchum  v  Taylor 19 

Kellj^  V  Indemnit}''  Insurance  Co 213 

Kirtley,  William  J.,  tried  for  murder 163 

Lansing  v  Russell 346 

LeBaron  v  Howe 223 

Leland  v  Hathorn 227 

Lewis  v  Rens.  &  Sar.  R.  R.  Co 191 

Life  Sketches 

Seth  C.  Baldwin,  clerk 320 

George  S.  Batcheller,  judge 374 

Joseph  Baucus,  sheriff 334 

William  A.  Beach,  district  attorney 310 

Augustus  Bockes,  judge  , 275 

Franklin  Carpenter,  sheriff 326 

Salmon  Child,  judge 281 

John  A.  Corey,  judge 292 

Esek  Cowen,  judge 267 

John  W.  Crane,  judge 298 

Chesseldon  Ellis,  district  attorney 308 

Winsor  B  French,  district  attorney 316 

Isaac  Frink,  sheriff 331 

Alpheus  Goodrich,  clerk 323 

Horace  Goodrich,  clerk 325 

Henry  H.  Hathorn,  sheriff 332 

Nicholas  Hill,  jr.  district  attorney 307 

James  W.  Horton,  clerk 326 


B  OONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

John  C.  Hulbert,  judge 299 

Joseph  Jennings,  sheriff 330 

Lyman  B.  Lan^worthy,  sheriff 329 

John  Lawrence,  district  attorney 313 

Charles  8.  Lester,  judge 300 

Richard  M.  Livingston,  district  attorney 305 

James  B.  ilcKean,  judge 294 

Phili])  H.  McOiuber,  sheriff 333 

Tliomas  J.  Marvin,  judge 287 

Joiin  O.  Mott,  district  attorney 315 

Thomas  >ioxon,  sheriff 335 

William  T.  Odell,  district  attorney 314 

Isaac  C.  Ormsby,  district  attorney • . .  315 

Levi  H.  Palmer,  clerk 321 

Thomas  Palmer,  clerk 322 

Gcoige  B.  Powell,  sheriff 334 

Tahor  B   Ixrynolds,  sheriff 335 

Theodore  W.  Sanders,  sheriff 331 

(Tcorge  (r.  Scott,  judge 301 

William  T.  Seymour,  sheriff 331 

Arclub;ild  Smiti),  clerk 324 

William  Stilwell,  clerk 321 

Dirck  Swart,  clerk 319 

Joliu  W.  Taylor,  speaker 141 

John  Tliompson,  judge 279 

James  Thompson,  judge 283 

William  L.  F.  Warren,  judge 305 

Reuben  IL  Walworth,  chancellor  262 

John  Willard,  judge 272 

Samuel  Young,  judge 286 

Limits  for  imprisoned  debtors 30,  95 

Lincoln  V  Sarat«ga  &  Schenectady  R.  R 117 

Livingston  v  Bryan 53 

Looniis  V  Reus.  &  Sar.  R  R.  Co 115 

Losee  v  Buchanan,  et.  al 219 

Maguire  v  Doolittle 232 

]M!is(>n,  .]an)es,  tried  for  murder 69 

McKinucy,  Patrick,  trial  for  perjury 156 

Markiuini  t  Deuel 1% 

Merrill  aiulfRusseil,  the  kidnappers j52 

Milton,  county  aid  for  bridges 98 

Mors  v  Mors,  et.  al 207 

Munro  v  Ganzevoorl 204 

Munro  v  Shepiierd 202 

Nash,  Julia,  escape  from  jail 162 

iNeilsfMi  v  PoHl '. 210 

Norlhrup,  Daniel,  trial  tor  murder 50 


CONTENTS.  9 

PAGE. 

O'Leary,  Daaiel,  tried  for  assault  with  intent  to  kill 157 

O'Rourke's  salo«u  case 181 

Packard,  J.  R.  and  daUff^hter,  tried  f©r  murder 161 

Pangburn  v  Partridge 58 

Pearse  v  Best 217 

Pelton  V  Reus.  &  bar.  R.  R 231 

Pioneer  Paper  Company's  suits 225 

Powell  V  Davison 205 

Pratt  V  Meeker,  el.  al 197 

Price,  John  H.,  his  three  trials 159 

Rector,  Thomas,  trial  for  murder 119 

Robinson,  James,  conviction  of  murder 164 

Rogers  v  Clark 56 

Rogers  v  Poller •  •  • " 57 

Rynders,  Isaiah,  trial  for  riot 85 

Saratoga  county  bar  (former) 131 

Saratoga  county  bar  (present) 370 

Beabury  et  al  v  Howland 234 

Sc  ott  ct  al  V  Carpenter  et  ai 195 

teoumei  v  National  Express  Co 338 

Smith  V  Holmes 256 

Smith  V  Reynolds 29 

Sieenbur^jh  v  Meiropolitan  Life  Ins.  Co 241 

Talmadge,  John,  trial  for  murder 147 

Taylor  v  Ford  et  al 125 

Thomas,  John,  the  pick  pockel 158 

Trials  in  Oyer  and  Terminer  1819  47 61 

Trials  in  Court  of  Sessions  1819  47 78 

Trials  in  Criminal  Courts  since  1847 145 

Van  Buren  v  Reformed  Church  in  Ganzevoort 239 

Vauderwerken,  Wm.  conviction  of  murder 159 

Van  Deusen  v  Sweet 221 

Van  Schaick  v  Davis 106 

Van  Schaick  V  Vincent 113 

Vroomau  v  Shepherd 127 

Vinegar,  Samuel,  trial  for  assault 67 

Wait  V  Wait 189 

Wait,  A.  A.  V  Wait,  D.   W.  et  al 214 

Waldron  v  Weldeu 55 

Waterford  and  Stillwater  turnpike  case 218 

Watkins,  John,  trial  for  murder 70 

White  V  White  et  al 56 

Whonhart  v  Judson 241 


10  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Wbyllis  V  Gilchrist. 188 

Wilcox,  Williarn,  trial  for  murder 75 

Witbeck.  William  et  al.  trial  for  murder 165 

AVood  V  La  Fayette 259 

Woodruff  V  Gilchrist 58 

Young  V  Dake 190 

Younc  V  Jeffers  «t  al 204 

Young  V  Washington  Co.  Mutual  Ins.  Co 198 


PREFACE. 


The  courts  of  any  country  are  the  conservators  of  its  liberties  and 
of  the  rights  of  its  citizens.  The  blessings  that  the  people  who 
inherit  the  privileges  of  Magna  Charta  eajoy  are  closely  allied  with 
the  history  of  the  civil  and  criminal  tribunals  of  the  mother  coun- 
tr}',  and  of  our  own  land.  The  names  of  the  eminent  jurists  whose 
sound  decisions  have  commanded  the  respect  and  admiration  of 
the  world,  and  the  brilliant  advocates  and  wise  counselors  who 
have  stood  at  the  bar  and  defended  the  rights  and  liberties  of  citi- 
zens, are  among  the  most  illustrious  on  the  pages  cf  history. 

The  genius  of  Blackstone  and  the  dicta  of  Mansfield  and  Sir 
Matthew  Hale  in  England  find  their  hemispheres,  as  it  were,  in 
the  brilliant  mind  of  Chancellor  Kent  and  in  the  law  as  given 
from  the  lips  of  Marshall  and  Story.  Those  learned  and  eloquent 
lawyers  of  Great  Britain,  Burke,  Sheridan,  Canning,  Curran  and 
Brougham,  have  fitting  compeers  in  Jay,  Livinsgton,  Henry,  Web- 
ster and  Choate,  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  From  the  many 
sons  of  this  state  who  have  worn  the  ermine  with  honor  and  integ- 
rity or  gained  countless  laurels  in  the  forum,  Saratoga  can  point 
with  pride  to  her  sons  on  the  henorable  scroll.  The  county  which 
has  given  from  its  bar  to  the  bench  of  the  state  the  names  of  Wal- 
worlh^Cowen,  Willard  and  Bockes,  and  sent  to  the  front  rank  of 
its  legal  talent  such  men  as  Nicholas  Hill,  ir.,  John  H.  Reynolds 
William  A  Beach  and  John  K.  Porter,  and  has  lent  to  the  coun- 
sels of  the  state  ;and  nation  the  wisdom  of  Gen.  James  Gerdon, 
JudgejJohn  Thompson,  John  W.  Taylor,  Col.  Samuel  Young^ 
John  Cramer,  George  G.  Scott  and  James  B.  McKean,  and  whose 
bar  roll  now  bears  the  names  of  men  who  have  won  distinction  by 
hard  work  in  the  profession  they  adorn,  should  well  be  proud  of 
their  record,  and  be  unwilling  to  allow  the  story  of  their  struggles 
and  triumphs  to  pass  to  the  shades  of  mere  tradition.    Several 


12  PREFACE. 

gentlemen  have  in  the  order  of  seniority  at  its'har  been  its  patri- 
archs, and,  since  the  death  of  the  venerable  Wm.  L.  F.  Warren  in 
ISTo,  that  di/'-nity  has  been  worthily  won  by  John  Brothersou  of 
B^illslon  Spa. 

With  a  view  of  collecting  the  judicial  history  of  this  county 
with  reminiscences  of  tbe  chief  actors  therein,  as  it  exists  in  the 
records  of  tbe  county  clerk's  and  sheriff 's  offices  or  in  the  mem- 
ories of  old  residents  in  this  village  and  other  parts  of  the  county, 
I  have  been  for  several  years  collecting  and  collating  the  facts 
which  appear  in  the  following  pages.  The  traditions  of  the  e  rly 
daj's  have  been  thoroughly  cismpared  with  each  other  and  with 
the  records  of  the  county  and  dul}'  collated.  From  these  materials 
have  been  drawn  the  threads  which  have  l)een  carefully  woven 
into  the  history  of  our  county's  "Bench  and  Bar."  The  dates,  in 
every  instance,  of  events  connected  with  the  history  of  the  county 
and  its  courts  are  those  found  in  the  official  records. 

The  "Life  Sketches"  were  written  from  data  furnished  by  the 
friends  of  the  distinguished  gentlemen  therein  portrayed,  and  the 
anecdotes  related  are  given  as  they  were  told  to  me  by  parties  to 
whom  they  are  as  familiar  as  "  household  words,'' and,  as  they 
give  an  inkling  to  the  humorous  side  of  the  sometimes  dry  subject 
of  the  law,  they  find  an  appropriate  place  in  this  work. 

I  must  also  render  acknowledgement  ta  Judge  Scott  and  Gen. 
E.  F.  Bullard  for  facts  derived  from  their  "  Centennial  Addresses," 
and  to  Wm.  L.  Stone  for  several  extracts  from  the  "Reminiscenses 
of  Saratoga."  Also,  to  Judge  Scott  for  the  excellent  "  Civil  Reg- 
ister" prepared  b}'  him  several  years  ago  for  the  yse  of  the  super- 
visors, wliich  is  included  in  this  work  as  an  appendix,  and  which 
has  been  completed  to  the  present  year  by  comparison  with  the 
county  records.  Al.so,  to  all  other  kinM  friends  who  have  assisted 
in  the  compilation  and  publication  of  this  vvork. 

E.  R.  Mann. 
^  Baliston  Spa,  September  25,  18T6. 


The  BENCJH  and  BAR 

OF   SARATOGA    COUNTY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  FIRST  COURTS  OF  THIS  COUNTY. 

It  has  been  a  matter  of  ehronie  complaint  for 
several  years  that  the  members  of  the  legislature, 
when  they  wish  to  carry  some  far-reaching  measure 
•and  give  no  occasion  for  distrust  arising  from  see- 
ing the  title  in  the  daily  newspapers,  that  they 
conch  its  nomenclature  in  such  obscure  terms  that 
the  common  reader  will  not  guess  its  tendency  and 
scope.  That  this  is  no  new  practice  is  shown  }>y 
'•  Chapter  1\  of  the  Laws  of  1791,  passed  February 
17,"  of  that  year.  It  \\'as  the  "  propert}' ''  of  (iens. 
Philip  Schuyler  and  James  Gordon,  and  was  en- 
titled ''An  act  for  apportioning  the  representation 
in  the  legislature  according  to  the  rules  prescribed 
in  the  constitution,  and  for  other  purposes."  It 
passed  both  houses,  was  signed  by  Gov.  George 
Clinton,  and  behold,  Albany  was  bereft  of  a  large 
portion  of  her  northern  and  eastern  territory,  and 
two  sister  counties  confronted  her  across  the  Hud- 
son and  Mohawk  rivers.  By  section  one  of  that 
act,  after  annexing  the  towns  of  Easton  and  Cam- 
1^ 


14  THE  lyiNCH   ATs-^D    BAli 

bj-idge  to  Washington  county  and  creating  the 
county  of  Rensselaer,  it  was  provided:  "that  all 
that  pai't  ot  the  (county  of  Albany  whicii  is  b(junded 
easterly  by  the  Hudson  river  and  counties  of  Wash- 
ington and  Rensselaer,  southerly  by  tlie  most  north- 
erly sprout  of  said  river  and  the  town  of  Schenec- 
tady,  westerly  by  the  county  of  Montgomery,  and 
northerly  by  the  county  of  AVashington,  sliall  be 
one  separate  and  distinct  county  and  be  called  and 
known  l)y  tlu.'  nanie  of  Saratoga,"  The  other  sec- 
tions of  the  bill  stated  that  the  several  courts  of  the 
state  should  have  jurisdiction  thenMU  ;  provided 
for  local  tribunals  :  that  all  prisoners  should  be 
kept  in  the  Albany  Jail  until  new  Jails  should  be 
built;  and  for  their  repi-esentation  in  both  houses 
of  the  legislature.  Thus  in  the  last  section  alone. 
was  treated  the  subject  mattei'  of  the  title. 

The  courts  of  the  state  at  that  tinie  were  by  the 
constitution  of  1777,  the  "Court  of  Errors,"  which 
consisted  of  the  lieutenant  govei'uor,  the  seiiatoi's, 
chancellor  and  1  he  judges  of  the  Su])rejue  Court, 
which  had  juiisdiction  of  iuijteachuients  and  agt?u- 
erai  revision  of  the  decisions  of  the  (-(unts  below, 
by  appeal  ;  the  ''Court  of  Chancery."  having  the 
exclusive  contiol  of  all  cases  in  equity  ;  tlui  ''  Su- 
]>rerne  Court  of  Judicature."  which  consisted  of  a 
chief  Justi<'e  and  three /y///,vy/r  judges,  which  sat  In. 
hunk  and  heard  a]t]ical>  tVoiu  th<'  lower  courts ; 
the  *•  Circuit  couit."  held  iu  ditt'ereiit  counties  at 
least  one*'  in  each  year,  presided  over  l>v  a  Judge 
of  the  Sujtreiue  Court,  and  empowered  to  tiy  all 
issui'>5  at    lau   ami  :/ne  Judgment  thereon ;  and  in 


OF    SAKATOOA    COUNTY.  15 

eacli  county  a  ''Court  of  Common  Pleas,"  consist- 
mp;  of  a  first  judge  and  at  least  three  judges,  wliicli 
had  powe]-  to  try  and  determine  aceording  to  law 
all  actions  real,  personal  and  mixed,  arising  in  th<^ 
respective  counties.  The  criminal  branch  of  the 
courts  consisted  of  an  "  Oyer  and  Terminer,"  held 
by  a  judge  and  at  least  three  commissioned  justices 
of  the  peace  of  the  county,  of  whom  one  ndght  be 
tliH  first  judge,  or  one  of  the  judges  of  Common 
Fleas,  and  a  "Court  of  General  Sessions.""  held  by 
any  thret;  of  the  justices  of  the  peace  of  the  count}' 
and  of  which  a  judge  of  Common  Ph^as  must  always 
be  a  member.  The  former  had  jurisdiction  of  all 
crimes,  treasons  and  felonies,  and  the  latter  was 
confined  to  the  trial  of  such  offenses  within  their 
counti(5S,  and  misdemeanors,  with  powers  in  eacJi 
court  according  to  law.  The  Court  of  Sessions  had 
jurisdiction  also  of  all  cases  relating  to  slaves,  ser- 
vants and  apprentices. 

Attorneys  of  the  degree  of  counselors  could  i)rac- 
tice  in  any  court  of  the  state.  Attorneys  of  the 
Supreme  .Court  could  appear  in  that  court  and  try 
cases  in  the  Circuit  and  Oyer  and  Terminer.  But 
to  practice  in  the  Courts  of  Common  Pleas  or  Gen- 
eral Sessions  it  Avas  first  necessary  to  be  specially 
admitted  io  practi«'e  in  those  counties  in  which  it  was 
held.  To  se(uire  admission  to  the  degree  of  attor- 
ney it  was  necessary  to  siiow  a  certificate  of  admis- 
sion to  the  Supreme  Court  or  a  certificate  of  a  three 
years'  clerkship  with  some  attorney,  and  undergo 
a  rigid  examination.  The  state  was  represented 
then  as  now  in  the  courts  by  an  attorney  general, 


16  THE   BENCH    AND    BAR 

and  tlie  people  in  the  Oyer  and  Terminer  or  Sessions 
l>y  the  attoj'ney-genei-al  or  district  attorney  All  of 
these  officers  were  appointed  by  the  ''Councilor 
Appointment,  and  commissioned  by  the  governor. 
The  judges  hehi  their  office  until  they  attained  the 
age  of  sixty  years.  Such  was  tiic  cumbrons  ma- 
chinery of  our  Jndiciary,  founded  on  that  of  Eng- 
land, at  the  time  our  <'ounty's  hi.story  begins.  The 
comnum  law.  Avlien  iu)t  couHicting  m  itii  a  statute, 
was  the  law  of  the  state. 

The  new  county  was  at  onc<^  placed  on  a  firm 
Judicial  footing.  Gov.  Clinton  imuiediately  aj)- 
pointed  John  Thompson  of  Stillwater,  first  judge; 
James  Gordon  and  Beriah  Palmer  of  Ballston,  .la 
cobus  A'an  Sclioonhoven  of  llalfmoon,  and  Sidney 
l^eiry  of  Saiatoga.  judges.  Sidne\'  J5eriy  was  ap- 
j»ointed  surrogat<\  Jacol)  Fort  jr.  of  llalfmoon, 
sheriff,  and  Dii'ck  Swart  of  Stillwater,  clerk.  In 
accordance  with  an  a])])ointnient  made  under  the 
pi'ovisions  of  the  statute  the  first  session  of  the 
court  of  Coiiiiuoii  Plras  juet  .May  K),  171M,  at  the 
residence  of  Samuel  Clark,  justice  of  the  peace,  in 
Stillwater,  now  Malta  :  it  having  stood  on  the  farm 
now  owned  by  Henry  Van  llyning,  on  the  East 
Line  road.  It  was  ])resided  over  by  Judge  Thoni]» 
son  and  the  three  judges  above  named,  with  John 
\'arnam,  Hliphalet  Kellogg  aud  Kpenetus  White, 
associate  justices. 

The  first  business  ie<'orded  is  the  admissif>n  to 
practice  of  Cornelius  \  andenburgh,  Cuerl  \'au 
Sehoonhoven,  Peter  Ed.  Elmendorf^  Myndert  \'an 
Evere.n   jr..  John  V.  lleniv.   John   1>.    Dickinson, 


OF   SARATOGA   COTTNTY.  •    17 

Gamaliel  and  Harmonis  H.  Wendall,  Jolm  W. 
Yates,  Nicholas  Fonda.  Abraham  Hun,  Peter  D. 
Van  Dyck,  John  Woodworth,  Moss  Kent,  John 
Lovett  and  Joseph  C.  Yates  (afterwards  governor), 
as  attorneys.  Major  Ezra  Buell  of  Stillwater,  a 
revolutionary  veteran,  was  appointed  crier.  The 
lirst  recorded  order  in  the  court  of  Common  Pleas 
was  directed  to  Michael  Sharp  in  the  action  of  Gur- 
tie  Thompson,  Rikert  Shell  and  Harmonis  Thomp- 
son, executors  of  Jacob  Thompson,  to  show  cause 
why  /judgment  should  not  be  entered  against  him 
at  the  next  term  on  a  bill  penal  executed  by  him 
May  6,  1770,  for  i'lO,  lOs.  Guert  Van  Schoonho- 
ven  was  plaintiffs'  attorney.  No  statute  of  limit- 
ations seems  to  have  held  then,  and  counselor  Van 
Schoonhoven  seems  to  have  been  successful  in  col- 
lecting thin  long  standing  account,  for  no  further 
notice  of  it  appears.  At  the  May  term  in  1792. 
Henry  Yates  was  admitted  to  practice  after  exam- 
ination, and  James  Emott  and  Henr}^  Walton  were 
admitted  on  exhibition  of  certiiicat<3S  from  the  Su- 
])reme  Court. 

At  the  first  term  of  the  General  Sessions,  held 
May  10.  1791,  by  James  Gordon,  judge,  and  John 
A^arnam,  Epenetus  White.  Eliphalet  Kellogg,  Rich- 
ard Davis  jr.,  l)ouw  I.  Fonda,  Elias  Palmer,  Nath. 
Douglas,  John  Ball  and  John  Bradstreet,  justices 
of  the  peace,  a  grand  jury  was  sworn,  consisting  of 
Richard  Davis  jr..  Joshua  Taylor.  John  Donald. 
Heniy  Davis.  Hez.  Ketch  urn.  Seth  C.  Baldwin, 
Ezra  Halliboi-t.  John  Wood,  Samuel  AVood,  Edy 
Baker^  Elisha  Andrews,  Gideon  Moore,  Abraham 


18  THE    BENCH    AND    KAli 

Liviugston  and  .Tolni  Bleeckf^r.  The  iirst  trial  in 
the  Sessions  was  at  tlie  November  term,  1792,  beino- 
the  indictment  against  one  Daniel  Hnlts  for  assanlt 
and  batter}'  on  Bnrtis  Soper.  The  affray  occurred 
in  Stillwater.  Five  witnesses  were  sworn  for  the 
people  and  four  foi-  the  defendant.  As  the  iaw  then 
did  not  act  on  the  principle  that  the  quality  of  justice 
and  mei'C}'  shouhl  be  atrninocL  tl)e  defendant  was 
not  allowed  to  testify,  an  equilibrium  of  evidence 
numerically  <-ould  not  be  established,  and  a  con- 
viction was  had.  He  was  fined  ten  shillings.  The 
people,  it  appears,  were  not  more  given  to  mending 
their  ways  tlien,  than  in  these  later  days,  for  indict- 
ments were  found  against  the  towns  of  Ballston  and 
Halfmocm  for  failine  to  keep  highways  in  proper 
repair.  The  offense  laid  at  the  door  of  the  highway 
officials  of  Ballston  was  that  they  failed  to  maintain 
a  }>assable  highway  at  all  seasons  of  the  year  from 
Academy  Hill  across  the  outlet  of  Ballston  lake  to 
the  residences  of  .hidges  Kellogg  and  White  on  the 
eastern  shore.  In  the  early  spiing  of  1791,  Gen. 
(lordon  had  ))een  to  Albany,  accompanied  by  his 
family,  and  ou  his  way  home  he  diove  iij)  in  his 
carriage  on  tlio  east  side  of  the  lake  to  Judge  Kel- 
logg's,  and  then  essayed  to  cross  the  outh^t  bridge. 
The  water  was  veiy  high  and  extended  ovei-  and 
across  the  i-oad.  He  (h(»\<'  cautiously  aci'oss  the 
bridge  and  if-achi-d  th<'  iiairow  "  coi'duroy."  The 
watei-  was  so  high  that  it  came  into  the  caiiiage  and 
lendered  it  inqxissible  to  ])r()ceed.  .It  was  with  the 
greatest  difficulty  that  (ten.  Gordon  turned  his 
team  and  got  back  in  safety  to  his  friend  Judge 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  19 

Kellogg  s  hospitablf  nifuision,  wheie  the  party  re- 
mained until  morning.  Tlie  indictment  seems  to 
have  been  ineft'ectnal,  for  the  same  dangerous 
''  cordm-oy ''  yet  exists,  or  one  of  its  posterity  made 
after  the  original  pattern,  for,  by  a  singular  coin- 
cidem-e,  a  few  days  aftei-  tliis  chapter  was  originally 
wiitten,  in  the  spring  of  1876,  Col.  C.  T.  Peek  and 
family  liad  a  similar  nai-row  esca]>e  with  their  lives 
while  attempting  to  pass  across  the  outlet  to  attend 
church  at  Ballston  Center.  That  half  mile  of  most 
execrable  highway  is  a  bittei-  disgrace  to  the  pros- 
perous town  of  Ballston. 

Ithamai-  Smith  of  Ballston  and  William  Palmer- 
ton  of  Stillwater  were  tried  for  assaulting  constables 
in  the  performance  of  th(4r  duty.  They  were  con- 
victed and  fined  ;  Smith  one  pound  and  Palmerton 
live  pounds.  It  is  easy  to  imagine  the  language  of 
stern  rebuke  of  the  enormity  of  these  offenses  with 
which  the  presiding  .jiulge  addressed  the  culprits. 

The  first  Circuit  Court  and  Oyn-  and  Terminer 
was  held  at  the  house  of  Jedediah  Eogers,  in  Half- 
moon  (now  Clifton  Park  village),  Tuesday,  July  7. 
1791.  It  was  presided  over  by  Chief-justice  Robert 
Yates-,  assisted  by  all  the  judges  of  Common  Pleas 
and  Adrian  Hagerman  and  Epenetns  White,  jus- 
tices of  the  peace.  The  next  term  was  lield  in  the 
church  at  Stillwater,  June  4,  1792.  No  business  of 
importance  was  transacted  at  either  term.  The 
iirst  petit  jury  that  \v:is  impanneled  was  in  the  court 
of  Comnfon  Pleas,  to  tiy  the  issue  in  the  suit  of 
Daniel  Ketch um'  Taylor  against  Daniel  Ketchum 
for  damages  for  trespass,  assault  and  false  impris- 


20  THE  BENCH  AND   BAK 

onment.  The  jury  consisted  of  Thomas  Sweptiiian. 
foreman  ;  William  Carpenter,  Jeremiali  Betts.  .lohn 
Rowley,  8eth  Rogers,  .Jacob  Rogers,  Kpliiaim 
AVood worth  jr..  AVilliam  Patrick,  Samuel  Bushie, 
Hobsou  Beely,  John  Andrews  jr.  and  Joseph  Ben- 
jamin. They  had  no  difficulty  in  disposing  of  the 
case  and  gave  a  verdict  to  sootlie  the  injured  feel- 
ings of  tlie  i)laintiif  for  tifteen  shillings  and  costs. 
C.  Vandenburgh  was  the  successful  attorney. 

At  the  June  Sessions,  1794,  a  case  arose  which 
demonstrated  tliat  justices  of  the  peace  are  some- 
times of  a  belligerent  temperament,  for  John  Brad- 
street  Schuyler  was  indicted  for  an  assault  and  l)at- 
tery  on  Seth  (\  Baldwin,  and  S(4h  C.  Baldwin  was 
also  indicted  for  an  assault  and  battej y  on  .loliu  B. 
Schuylej-  "at  this  present  term  of  court."  At  the 
next  tei-m  the  parties  '"  having  adjusted  theii-  diffei- 
ences."  nolle  proseqiUes  were  entered.  Whether 
They  settled  them  in  another  and  more  ])rivate  game 
of  tisti(^uffs  or  over  a  "cup  of  sack,"  honest  old 
clerk  Swa-it  did  Jiot  record,  nor  does  tradition  whis- 
per. At  the  same  teim,  Dick,  a  negro  slaA'C,  was 
tried  for  an  assault  and  battery  on  Ke/.iah  Millard, 
wife  of  his  master,  Edy  Millaixl,  and  found  not 
guilty  ;  thus  showing  that  in  those  pi-imitive  days 
the  coh)red  man  had  rights  in  tiiis  eounty  which  the 
"white  man  were  bound  to  lespect." 

The  third  Circuit  and  Oyer  was  hehl  in  the  I'res 
byterian   cluirch    in    Ballston,  (Miief-justice  Yates 
))residing,   .luly  l),    \V.)'.\.     Elizabeth    S(.'ribnei-  was 
tried  on  an  indictment  for  the  murder  of  her  child. 
C.  Vandenburgh  represented  the  attorney  general, 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  21 

and  Peter  W.  Yates  and  Gf.  Van  Schoonhoren  con- 
dncted  tlie  case  of  tlie  prisoner.  Fifteen  Juroi-s 
were  challenged  before  the  "twelve  good  and  law- 
ful men"  were  found  who  adjudged  her  not  guilty 
on  the  evidence.  At  the  same  term  Ithamar  Alh^n 
was  tried  for  countei-feiting  a  Spanish  milled  dollar. 
A  verdict  of  "not  guilty  and  he  did  not  fly  the 
county,''  was  rendered  by  the  Jur\-. 

At  a  term  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  lield  in  the  '•  red 
church  inBallston,"  August  17.  179o,  before  CJiif^f- 
justice  Yates,  Hannali,  a  negro  woman,  was  con- 
victed of  grand  lai-ceny  on  a  plea"  of  guilty,  and 
was  sentenced  to  be  whi^jped  at  the  j^ublic  whipping- 
post with  fifteen  stripes  on  her  naked  back,  August 
20,  between  the  hours  of  one  and  two  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon.  Tliis  pi-oves  that  the  privileges  now 
only  enjoyed  by  Delaware  were  once  in  vogue  in 
this  latitude.  The  last  entry  iii  this  term  is  th(^ 
following : 

Elias  Palmer  and  Williimi  Ilradsliaw,  siihstantial   froclH)l<leis  ol' 
Saratoga  comity,  n'liiiiifil  into  coiiit  willi  an  inquisiiioii  lakcn  on 
tbe  tiody  of  an  unknown  man  wlio  came  lo  his  dcatli  by  a  wound 
on  the  back  of  liis  head  at  tiic  liands  of  a  person  or  persons  un 
known. 

There  is  no  further  record  of  this  mystei-y,  and 
we  can  only  (tonclude  tliat  his  blood,  like  tliat  of 
righteous  Abel,  ''yet  crieth  from  the  ground,"  and 
that  his  soul  joined 

"  The  innnmerabie  caravan 
Tliat  journeys  to  the  pale  realms  of  shade." 

This  term  was  the  last  held  previous  to  the  com- 
pletion of  the  first  <v)urt  house,  which  was  located 


22  rilK    HKiNCH    AX1>    \\\M 

at  Court  House  Hill,  uow  a  hamlet  iu  the  town  of 
Ballston,  two  and  a  half  miles  southwest  of  the 
count}'  seat.  In  addition  to  the  luimes  of  the  attor- 
neys i)i'acticing  at  the  bar  of  the  several  courts, 
some  of  whom  were  among  the  most  distinguished 
counselors  of  the  da}',  may  be  mentioned  William 
P.  A'an  Ness,  James  Kent  and  Brockholst  Living- 
ston, wnose  names  appear  in  (;onnection  with  sev- 
eral causes  tried.  Hon.  Geo.  G.  Scott  also  informs 
me  that  his  father,  James  Scott,  told  liim  that  at 
one  of  the  circuits  held  at  the  church  at  Ballston 
Centre,  Alexander  Hamilton  and  Aaron  Burr  were 
opposing  counsel  in  an  action  there  tried. 


CHAPTER  11. 

THE  COURT  HOUSE  AT  COURT  HOUSE  HILL. 

"  The  evil  that  men  do  lives  after  tbeiii  ; 
The  good  is  oft  interred  with  their  lioues." 

Tliesc  words,  wliicli  the  Bard  of  Avon  places  in 
the  mouth  of  Antony  in  his  eulogy  pronounced 
over  the  dead  body  of  Julius  Caesar,  are  a  verity 
tliat  has  been  proven  in  numerous  instances.  A 
petty  quari-el  lias  often  led  to  dire  consequences,  as 
was  demonstrated  in  the  case  of  the  man  in  Rhode 
Island  Avho  killed  a  trespassing  pig  belonging  to  a 
neio'hbor.  and  the  feud  thus  engendered  led  to  cir- 
cumstan('(^s  Avhich  resulted  in  the  election  of  a  con- 
gressman by  Avhose  decisive  vote  the  war  of  1812 
was  declared  to  exist  b}'  the  resolution  of  congress. 
Previous  to  1790  there  had  lived  in  the  town  of 
Ballston  for  several  years  two  men  who  had  become 
qidte  pi'ominent  among  the  early  settlers.  They 
were  Gen.  James  Gordon,  a  native  of  the  north  of 
Ii-elantl,  but  of  Scottish  descent,  a  colonel  in  the 
army  of  the  revcjlution,  who  was  taken  a  prisoner 
in  his  own  house  during  the  tory  raid  in  1780,  and 
was  held  as  a  pi-isoui^'  several  years  in  (Janada  ; 
and  Judge  Beriah  Palmer,  a  native  of  ( ■onnectii'ut, 
a  man  who,  it  would  seem,  was  endowed  with  all 
the  talents  usually"  possessed  by  the  sons  of  tliat 
enterprising  commonweatlh.  Gordon  then  li\ed 
on  the  form  now  owned  by  Henry  A  Vis  wall  jr.,  on 


24  THE   BENCH   AND   BAR. 

the  middle  line  road,  and  Palmer  lived  near  Burnt 
Hills,  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Hon.  Samuel  W. 
Buel.  The  town  of  Ballston  then  included  all  the 
western  and  northern  portions  of  what  is  Saratoga 
county.  For  several  years  previous  to  1790  Gordon 
had  been  its  supervisor.  The  election  for  that 
spring  was  called  to  be  held  in  the  meeting  house 
at  vviiat  is  now  known  as  Milton  hill.  The  day 
was  bright  and  balmy  and  it  was  suggested  that 
the  election  l^e  held  outside  the  church,  and  one  of 
the  justices  taking  a  suitable  position,  declared  the 
polls  open.  The  votes  were  taken  viim  voce,  and 
Palmer,  who  was  a  candidate,  soon  found  that  the 
assemblage  was  quite  adverse  to  his  ("lainis.  So 
taking  one  of  the  Justices,  friendly  to  him,  he  went 
i/ilo  the  chujch  and  opened  another  poll,  where 
thirteen  citizens  asserted  their  preferences  and 
Palmer  was  declared  unanimously  elected.  A  con- 
test uiose,  and  though  Gordon  received  the  largest 
number  of  votes  ovUide  the  church,  Palmer's  elec- 
tion was  affirmed  because  he  had  the  inside  of  the 
church  and  the  argument  in  his  favor.  Gordon 
acquiesced  in  this  decision,  but  his  wily  Scotch 
blood  was  ex«'ited,  and  five  years  later  he  aided  in 
tuniinu-  the  tables  on  Palmer.  The  feud  thus 
nvjittMl  led  to  an  appeal  to  the  courts.  Gordon  se- 
iurt'd  a  verdict  staraj^ing  certain  allegations  proved 
l<»  h.i\»*  been  set  atloat  by  Palmer  to  have  been 
libelous,  and  l^ilmer  obtaint^d  (rordon's  indictment 
for  assumijig  to  act  in  the  capacity  of  a  judge  of 
Common  Pleas  without  taking  the  constitutional 
oatli.     He  liad  hold  that  office  in  Albany  county, 


OF   SARATOGA    COUNTY.  25 

and  supposed  that  the  erection  of  the  new  county 
transferred  him  to  its  bench.  The  indictment  was, 
however,  soon  afterwards  quashed.  Both,  it  would 
appear,  were  highly  esteemed  by  the  community, 
for  both  sat  as  judges  in  the  county  courts  and 
each  served  two  terms  in  the  national  house  of  rep- 
resentatives. Palmer  survived  his  opponent  and 
as  Surrogate  probated  his  will.  Gordon  sleeps  the 
last  sleep  in  the  Briggs  cemeter}^  in  Ballston,  and 
Palmer  lies  in  the  cemetery  at  Ballston  Spa. 

We  have  seen  in  the  preceding  chapter  that  there 
was  no  settled  place  of  holding  the  courts,  the' 
shire  town  or  public  buildhigs  not  having  been  lo- 
cated until  four  years  later.  At  that  time  the 
most  important  place  in  the  county  was  Half  Moon 
Point  (now  Waterford),  but  its  location  was  out  of 
the  question.  Next  came  Stillwater  village,  the 
residence  of  Judge  Thompson  and  count}^  clerk 
Swart.  But  the  same  objection  existed  as  to  that 
and  Schuylerville  (the  home  of  John  Bradstreet 
Schuyler,  a  son  of  the  patriot  general),  as  there  did 
to  Waterford.  Next  came  Ballston  (meaning  the 
Centre),  which  was  then  an  important  place  of  trade 
for  the  nortliein  countr} ,  having  two  hotels  and 
offering  many  and  strong  inducements  to  have  it 
made  the  county  seat.  It  numbeied  among  its  ad- 
vocates Judges  Beriah  Palmer  and  Epenetus  White, 
Henry  Walton  and  Seth  C.  Baldwin,  who  were 
among  the  most  iniluential  men  of  the  time.  An 
act  was  pass(>d  hy  the  legislature  March  26,  1794, 
naming  John  Bradstreet  Schuyler,  Richard  Davis 
jr.,  James  Emott,  John  Ball  and  John  McClelland 
2 


26  THE   BENCH   AND    BAR 

commissioners  for  locating  the  county  seat  and 
building  the  court  house  and  jail.  James  Emott 
was  a  son-in-law  of  Beriah  Palmer,  and  was  favor- 
able to  locating  it  at  the  Centre,  which  was  to  the 
citizens  of  the  town  what  Boston  is  to  the  sons  of 
the  old  Bay  state.  Ball  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Eliph- 
alet  Ball,  and  brother-in-law  of  Gen.  Gordon,  and 
lived  then  at  Gordon's  mills,  now  Milton  Centre. 
He  too,  was  supposed  to  be  favorable  to  the  same 
location.  Mi-.  Davis  lived  in  Half  Moon  .and  Mr. 
McClelland  lived  in  Gal  way. 

Now  came  the  question  of  location.     The  town 
of  Milton  had  been  set  off  from  Ballston  in  1792, 
and  Col.  John  Ball  had  been  its  lirst  supervisor. 
A  fine  and  thriving  settlement  had  sprung  up  around 
the  church  on  the  hill,  and  like  most  new  and  enter- 
prising embryo  cities  it  affected  to  despise  its  staid 
old  neighbor  on  the  souch  as  rather  too  old  fogyish. 
The  forty-third  parallel  (which  is  the  dividing  line 
between  Ballston  and  Milton)  soon  became  as  noted 
a  point  of  divergence  of  common  interests  as  did 
the  Tweed  of  old  in  dividing  the  Scot  from  his  Saxon 
foe,  or  as  in  later  days  did  Mason  and  Dixon's  line 
mark  the  opposing  currents  of  free  and  slave  labor. 
Of  course,  Milton  put  in  its  claims  for  the  location 
of  the  public  buildings  and  its  designation  as  the 
shire  town.     Its  claims  were  presented  to  the  com- 
mission by  Col.  John  Ball,  to  the  dl.sgut^t  of  his  old 
Ballston    tVif^nds.     He  was  backed   by  supervisor 
Abel  Whalen,  Elisha  Powell  and  Dr.  Aaron  Greg- 
ory, a  son-in-law  of  Judge  Thom])son.     The  latter 
and  Gfn.  Gordon,  it  is  alleged,  secretly  aided  Col. 
Ball  in  his  '^ndeavors.     Ballston  SpH  and  Saratoga 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  27 

Springs  were  then  unknown,  and  of  course  were 
not  contestants  for  tlie  honors  about  to  be  conferred. 
The  commission  deliberated  long  the  mooted  ques- 
tion ;  the  decision  wavered,  and  finally  seemed  to 
be  decided  in  favor  of  the  southerners.  John  B. 
Schuyler,  who  remembered  his  late  encounter  with 
Seth  C.  Baldwin,  still  stood  iirm  with  Col.  Ball 
against  the  designation  of  Baldwin's  home  as  the 
county  seat.  At  this  j  uncture  Capt.  Edward  A.  Wat- 
rous,  who  lived  on  the  hill  north  of  Gen.  Gordon, 
offered  as  a  compromise  to  give  to  the  county  a  site 
on  his  farm  to  be  public  property  as  long  as  occu- 
pied by  the  court  house  and  jail  which  he  proposed 
should  be  located  thereon.  This  proposition  un- 
doubtedly had  its  origin  in  the  mind  of  Gen.  Gor- 
don. The  otfei-  was  accepted  by  the  commission, 
Ballston  was  declared  the  shire  town,  but  Gordon 
enjoyed  the  discomfiture  of  his  old  antagonist, 
Palmer. 

The  site  having  been  decided,  the  commissioners 
began  to  perfect.  £1,500  New  York  currency  had 
been  appropriated  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a 
suitable  building  or  buildings  for  the  court  house 
and  jail.  There  was  no  provision  for  the  county 
clerk's  office,  and  the  same  was  kept  by  the  clerk 
in  his  own  office,  wherever  it  might  be  located,  until 
1824,  when  the  little  stone  edifice,  so  familiarly 
known  in  Ballston  Spa,  was  built.  A  contract  was 
made  with  one  Luthei-  Leet  to  erect  the  building 
according  to  the  plans  agreed  upon.  It  was  to  be 
of  wood,  two  stories  in  hight,  fifty  feet  square,  with 
a  one-story  wing  upon  the  rear  twenty  by  thirty 


28 


THE  BENCH    AND   BAR 


feet.  For  tlie  accomxmnying  diagrams  of  the  build- 
ing and  the  <:ourt  room  1  am  indebted  to  Hon.  Geo. 
G.  Scott. 

Like  some  modern  commissioners  and  contract- 


4 

- 

3 

- 

6 

1 

o                 1 

PRIXCII'AI.    »l-(>(tr. 

1,  HiUTOom.     -3,  Debtors'  U(tuni.     :!,  Jailor's  Private  Koom      J, 
Kilelien  and  Dining'  Konm.     ."i,  ."t.  Cells.     (>.  (\)ni(lors. 

oi's,  tlie  connuissioners  found  the  sum  (irst  appro- 
l)riated  was  insuffi(;ient,  and  £0()()  had  to  be  furtlier 
raised  for  tlif  purpose  of  completion  in  each  of  the 
two  sncceeding  years.  The  court  house  thus  cost 
the  then  enormous  sum  of  §6, Too.  The  timber  for 
the  luiildiug  was  furnished  by  Edmund  Jennings, 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY. 


29 


father  of  the  venerable  ex-sheriff  Joseph  Jennings, 
who  yet  distinctly  remembers  its  erection. 

The  court  house  having  been  completed,  the  May 
term  of  the  Common  Pleas  and  Court  of  Sessions 
for  1796  was  held  therein.  John  Thompson,  first 
judge;  and  judges  Sidney  Berry  and  Epenetus 
White,  with  associate  justi<je  Eliphalet  Kellogg, 
sat  on  the  bench  in  the  former  ;  and  judges  Gordon 


4 

3 

COURT    ROOM    FLOOR. 
1,  Bench.    2,  Bar.     3,  Sheriff's  Room.    4,  Jurors' Room. 

and  White,  and  justices  Van  Schoonhoven,  Kellogg 
and  John  Ball  held  the  scales  of  justice  in  the  lat- 
ter. In  the  Common  Pleas,  on  due  yiroof  of  resi- 
dence and  on  taking  the  ])r*'scnbed  <>;itlis,  .lolin 
Franklin,  an  alien,  was  admitt('d  to  citi/.Hiishi)). 
The  first  case  tried  with  a  jury  witliin  its  wall.s  was 
a  declaration  in  asfiitvipsit  by  one  James  S.  Smith 
against  James  Reynolds.     The  chosen  twelve  were. 


30  THE    BENCH    AND    BAR 

William  Reeves,  foreman  ;  Noah  Taylor,  Henry 
Dunn,  Hez.  Vanderwerker,  John  Hoyt,  Joseph 
Rogers,  Thos.  Ostrander,  Stephen  Benedict,  Aaron 
Wilson,  John  Pettit,  Chas.  Deake  jr.  and  Mark  A. 
Childs.  It  is  recoi'ded  "that  without  leaving  their 
seats  the. iuiy  rendered  a  verdict  for  the  plaintiff 
for  £l(),10s.,  and  six  centscosts."  If,  as  in  modern 
times,  the  successful  attorne}^  received  the  costs 
for  his  fees,  Mr.  Guert  Van  Schoonhoven  must  have 
felt  liberally  rewarded  for  his  forensic  efforts  in  be- 
half of  Mr.  Smith.  For  several  years  the  princ^ipal 
business  in  the  Common  Pleas  related  to  petitions 
from  imprisoned  debtors  to  be  released  from  durance 
vile  ;  for  it  must  be  remembered  that  in  those  days 
the  "glorious  privilege  of  imprisonment  for  debt" 
was  a  feature  of  our  lawri  and  was  cherished  by 
creditors  as  one  of  the  j-ights  secured  by  Magna 
(Jharta.  That  it  was  not  appre(nated  by  the  debtor 
class  is  shown  by  tlie  numerous  petitions  filed  by 
them  in  (yommon  Pleas.  The  coui't  was  otherwise 
occupied  extensively  in  S(4tling  partitions  of  lots  of 
the  allotments  of  the  Kayaderosseras  patent.  In 
18(>5  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  employed  James 
Scott  to  survey  the  jail  liberties,  which  "contained 
three  acres,  exclusive  of  the  lands  on  which  the 
court  house  stands,  and  takes  in  the  greatest  part 
of  the  buildings  on  the  hill."  As  debtors  "on  the 
limits"  could  only  leave  the  same  on  Sunday  with- 
out liability  of  re-arrest  b}-  their  bailors  oi- creditors, 
it  limitrd  thcij-  ciich'  of  accpuiinlaiices  to  a  very  ex- 
clusive '"set."  However,  in  1811,  this  was  so  far 
modified  as  to  allow  them  "to  walk  in  the  highway 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY,  31 

to  and  from  the  Sprino-  in  the  village  of  Ballston 
Spa/' 

Judge  John  'J'hompson,  having  reached  the  age 
of  sixty  in  1809,  the  constitution  rendered  him  in- 
eligible for  further  service.  Salmon  Child  of  Green- 
field was  appointed  first  judge  by  Gov.  Tompkins, 
He  held  office  until  1818.  The  following  gentlemen 
sat  on  the  bench  with  him  as  judges  during  his  term 
of  office,  viz  :  Beriah  Palmer,  Samuel  Clark,  xidam 
Comstock.  John  Taylor,  JSIathaniel  Ketchnni,  John 
McClelland.  John  Stearns,  William  Stilwell,  Benj. 
Cowles,  Samuel  Drake,  Ashbel  Andrews,  William 
Patrick  jr.,  Elisha  Powell,  Ziba  Taylor,  John  M. 
Berry,  Abner  Carpenter,  Abraham  Moe.  Thomas 
Laing,  Avery  Starkweather,  Jeremy  Rockwell, 
Thomas  Dibble  and  Herman  Ganzevoort.  Until 
1818  there  was  no  limit  to  the  number  of  judges. 
The  legislature  that  year  limited  the  number  to  a 
first  judge  and  four  associate  judges.  The  last  en- 
try in  Common  Pleas  held  in  the  old  court  house 
was  the  report  of  Onesimus  Hubbell,  James  Scott 
and  Jeremiah  Mann  in  the  partition  suit  of  Martin 
Goodrich  et.  al.  against  Lewis  Goodrich,  filed  Jan- 
uary 80,  1816.  The  following  attorneys  were  ad- 
mitted "to  practice  in  Common  Pleas  at  Court  House 
Hill,  viz  :  Daniel  L.  Van  Antwerp,  James  Thomp- 
son, Jonathan  T.  Haight,  Zebulon  R.  Shipherd, 
Samuel  Cook,  Nicholas  B.  Doe,  Samuel  Young, 
George  Palmer,  William  Ganzevoort,  Esek  Covven, 
Daniel  G.  Guernsey,  Samuel  A.  Foote  and  Jolm  L. 
Yiele. 

In  the  Court  of  Sessions,  April  term,  1798,  there 


32  THE   BENCH   AND   BAR 

was  tried  an  indictment  which  shows  that  tlie  beef 
market  was  at  a  low  ebb,  for  a  good  milch  cow  was 
valued  at  only  Sl^.oO.  Abel  Buck  having  been  in- 
dicted for  stealing  such  a  cow  from  James  (Ireen  at 
Ballston  Centre,  he  was  on  proof  of  her  value,  von- 
viction  of  petit  larceny  and  sentenced  to  hard  labor 
in  the  county  jail  for  two  months.  So  far  as  is 
known  by  the  records  he  was  jailor  Gregory's  iirst 
boarder.  At  the  January  term  of  the  Court  of 
Sessions  in  1800,  the  first  indictment  for  perjury 
was  tried  against  one  Amasa  Parkei-,  of  Milton. 
Josiali  Ogden  Hoffman,  attorney  geneiul  a])i)<'ared 
for  the  people  and  Gumt  \'an  Schoonhoven  for  the 
prisoner.  The  alleged  perjury  was  said  to  have 
been  committed  at  the  preceding  term  of  Common 
Pleas.  The  judges  who  had  heard  the  testimony 
gave  conflicting  accounts  of  his  evidence  as  they 
understood  it,  and  the  jury  gave  Parker  the  "benefit 
of  the  doubt. '^ 

The  spirit  of  improvement  was  abroad  about  the 
year  IHOO,  and,  as  ever,  it  was  opposed  by  conflict- 
ing private  interests.  Numerous  mill  owners  in  all 
parts  of  the  county  were  indicted  for  maintaining 
nuisances.  The  thing  complained  of  being  the 
dams  which  held  back  the  waters  to  the  alleged 
great  increase  of  fever  Jind  the  detriment  of  the  pub- 
lic health.  Noticable  amcmg  these  was  one  against 
Joshua  R.  Aldridge  of  Ballston  S])a,  on  com])laiiit 
of  Ste]»lien  H.  White,  for  sto])])i?ig  the  flow  of  watei- 
in  Gordon's  creek  by  his  saw  mill  dam.  in  this 
case,  as  iu  nearly  all  others  at  the  time,  an  ord<^i- 
for  the  razing  of  the  dam  was  entered  in  the  min 
utes  of  the  eourt. 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  33 

At  the  October  term,  1801,  an  indictment  was 
found  against  Abraham  LaDieii  of  Northumber- 
land and  his  wife  Abigal,  for  arson.  They  were 
tried  in  the  next  Oyer  and  acquitted.  At  the  same 
Court  of  Sessions  John  Robinson  pleaded  guilty  to 
stealing  £1()  from  Gilbert  Laing  and  was  sentenced 
to  state  ])rison  for  one  year  and  one  month .  George 
Green  for  l)eating  his  wife  Peggy  was  sentenced 
January  12,  1804,  to  "two  weeks  in  tlie  county  goal 
on  bread  and  water.''  At  the  November  term, 
180.^).  Graudus  Van  Schoonhoven  and  Samuel 
Demarest  were  each  fined  live  dollars  for  keeping 
o-ambling  tables  in  their  taverns ;  and  Jacob  S. 
AT'iele,  a  town  collector  of  taxes,  was  found  guilty 
on  three  indictments  for  extortion  and  lined  $105. 

At  the  April  term,  1806,  "Justices  Ja(;obus  Van 
Schoonhoven,  Beriah  Palmer,  Samuel  Clark,  and 
Epenetus  White  (who  were  to  have  held  the  Ses- 
sions), found  that  they  liad  not  been  named  in  the 
general  commission  of  the  peace  as  justices  (they 
being  judges  of  Common  Pleas)  after  serious  con- 
sultation, and  taking  the  advice  of  th(3  bar,  declared 
that  they  were  not  legally  qualihed  to  hold  said 
term,  tmd  the  court  was  adjourned  by  one  of  the 
justices  of  the  peace  who  was  present  at  the  last 
term  until  the  lirst  Tuesday  in  November  next,  and 
the  clerk  was  directed  to  enter  the  same  on  the 
minutes."  The  entry  shows  a  becoming  distrust 
of  doubtful  powers  by  the  gentleman  named  there- 
in, and  sets  a  worthy  example  for  all  judges  to  fol- 
low when  their  authority  to  act  might  be  questioned. 


34  THE   BENCH    AND    BAR 

The  first    "equine"    mistake  of   ownership  of 
propert}'  recorded  was  the  stealing  ofa  bay  gelding 
from  Eleazer  Wlieeloek  by  one  James  Jones,  alias 
Paul  P.  Jones,  alias  James  Johns.     This  much 
HMUied  individual  was  arrested  Jlagranle  delictu. 
He  was  indicted  and  tried  at  the  January  Sessions, 
1807,  and  was  convicted  and  remanded  for  sentence. 
I  find  but  one  other  mention  of  his  name.     The  next 
day  the  grand  .jury  came  into  court  with  an  indict 
ment  charging  James  Jones  alias,  etc.,"  Silas  Deuel, 
John  Scheator  and  Leonard  Barnes,   alias  John 
Robinson,   with  jail   breaking.     They  had  in  fact 
taken   French  leave  of  Jailor  IloUister   the  night 
previous.     Similar  escapes  ensued  and  similar  in- 
dictments followed.     Deuel   was  the  only  one  of 
the  "special  jail  delivery"    who  was  recaptured. 
He  was  bailed  and  again  Hed  the  country.     By  an 
tict  of  the  legislature  of  1814  it  was  ordered  that 
judges  of  Common  Pleas  should  thereafter  hold 
the  General  Sessions.     The  last  trial  in  this  court 
house  was  that  of  John  Hart,  ,jr.  and  George  Bil- 
lings, indic'ted  for  fraud  and  deceit.     They  were 
found  to  be  not  guilty.     Billings  was  remanded  to 
jail  on  another  similar  indictment  for  trial  at  the 
next  Oyer  and  Terminer.     Before  the  appointed 
day  he  had  gone  to  meet  his  final  judgment,  having 
been  burned  in  the  destruction  of  the  jail,  March 
•J4,  181(5. 

The  lirst  Circuit  Court  and  Oyer  and  Terminer 
iield  in  the  court  house  at  Court  House  Hill  was 
held  ill  I7'.»'.).  Mud  \v:irfpresid''(l  over  by  Judge  John 
Lansing,  afterwaids  the  chancelloi'  whose  sudden 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  35 

disappearance  a  few  years  later  yet  remains  one  of 
the  mysteries  of  the  present  centnry.     The  otlier 
terms  there  held  were  holden  by  Judge  Kent,  af- 
terwards the  famous  chancellor,  Judge  Jacob  Rad- 
cliff,   Chief  Justice  Morgan  Lewis,   Chief  Justice 
Smith  Thompson,  Chief  Justice  Ambrose  Spencer, 
Judge  William  W.  Van  Ness,  and  Judge  Jonas 
Piatt,  who  held  the  last  term  in  it  in  May,  1815. 
At  the  June  Oyer,   1801,   Jacobus  Wheeler,  con- 
victed for  burglary,  was  sentenced  to  state  prison 
for  life  by  Judge  Kent.     I  find  the  following  entry 
in  the  Oyer  minutes,   June,   1804,   in  the  trial  of 
Isaac  French  for  grand  larceny  :     "Mr.  I).  L.  Van 
Antwerp  was  assigned  by  the  court  as  counsel  for 
the  prisoner,  in  conformity  with  the  humane  prac- 
tice of  our  laws."     However  he  was  convicted  and 
Judge  Smith  Tliompson  sentenced  him  to   three 
years'  imprisonment.     At    the  June   term,    1805, 
Margaret  Curtis  plead  guilty  to  an  attempt  to 
poison   Esther  Foote,   an  infant  of  three  years. 
Judge  Spencer  gave  her  sentence  to  be  confined  in 
"the  county  gaol  for  the  space  of  one  whole  year.' ' 
At  the  June  Oyer,   1806,  it  is  recorded  that  one 
David  Wheeler  had  "grasped  at  time  and  caught" 
—not  eternity,   but  one  year  in  state  prison   for 
stealing  a  watch  of  the  value  of  $12.50.     At  the 
June  Oyer,  1808,  John  Martin  and  Patrick  Free- 
man, for  passing  counteifeit  money,  were  sent  to 
states  prison  for  life  by   Judge  Smith  Thompson. 
This  conviction  and  sentence,  and  the  indictment 
of  Mott  Vandeuburgh  and  the  members  of  his  gang 
the  next  year   had   a    wholesome   effect,    for  the 


36  THE  BENCH  AND   BAR. 

'  'bank' '  was  scattered,  Vandenburgh  tied  to  Canada, 
and  for  a  time  common  people  liad  confidence  in 
their  currency.  William  House  and  George  Bur- 
noits  received  life  sentences  for  burglary  at  the  same 
term. 

At  the  May  Oyer,  1810,  Russell  Hibbai-d  [ was 
convicted  of  an  attempt  to  poison  the  family  of 
Garrett  A.  Van  Yranken.  George  Metcalf  repre- 
sented the  people  and  Young  and  Van  Antwerp 
the  prisoner.  Judge  Van  Ness  sentenced  him  to 
"close  confinement  in  the  county  jail  for  one  year, 
to  pay  a  fine  of  toi)  and  enter  a  security  with  two 
good  sureties  for  $300  to  keep  the  peace  in  future." 

At  the  Ma}'  Oyer,  1811.  Judge  Spencer  gravely 
sentenced  John  Robertson,  convicted  of  assault 
and  battery  on  his  step-mother,  "to  be  confined  in 
the  county  jail  for  three  months,  and  until  you  find 
securities  for  your  good  behavior,  particularly  to- 
wards your  father' s  family  and  especially  towards 
your  step-mother  in  the  sum  of  $1000  ;  your  securi- 
ties being  two  freeholders  in  the  sum  of  it^ooo  each." 
How  long  he  remained  in  the  custod}^  of  jailor  Kel- 
logg, county  clerk  Baldwin  failed  to  note.  At  the 
same  term  Joseph  Rhodes,  wlio  was  convicted  of 
l)ui'glary.  was  sentenced  for  a  life  term,  notwith- 
standing he  asserted  his  innocence  after  conviction. 
Whether  circumstances  proved  his  innocence  after- 
wards, whether  he  suttered  wrongfully  a  long  life 
of  ignomious  servitude,  or  was  a  hardened  villain, 
there  is  no  scmp  on  wiiich  to  base  a  conjecture. 

By  the  year  1813  counterfeiters  were  again  bold- 
ly at  work.     A  large  haul  having  been  made  by 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  37 

the  detectives  in  those  days,  a  special  Oyer  was 
held  in  August  of  that  year  and  nine  indictments 
were  disposed  of.     One  of  the  parties  gave  evidence 
against  the  others  and  eight  were   convicted  re- 
ceiving sentence  from  seven  to  twenty-one  years  ; 
Thomas  H.  Pratt,  the  leader,  having  the  heaviest 
term  imposed  on  him.     Jail  breaking  had  been  for 
some  years  a  common  amusement,  and  at  last,  in 
the  May  Oyer,  1815,  Nathaniel  Green,  who  had 
been  detected  in  leaving  surreptitiously  by  jailor 
Taylor,  was  sentenced  to  "five  year  s  imprisonment 
in  the  state  prison  in  the  city  of  New  York."     This 
was  the  last  conviction  had  in  the  old  Court  House. 
The  other  offences  for  which  indictments   were 
framed,  but  on  which  no  recorded  convictions  were 
had,  were  for  blasphemy,  being  a  common  cheat, 
illegally  transporting  paupers  from  one  town  to 
another,  polygamy  (this  was  the  case  of  one  Henry 
Young,  an  alleged  antetype  of  Brigham),  dissect- 
ing the  dead,  and  attempting  to  enslave  a  freeman. 
In  addition  to  the  other  distinguished  counselors 
mentioned  as  having  stood  within  its  bar  at  the 
practice  of  their  professions  may  be  named  Am 
brose  Spencer,  John  Woodworth,  Matthias  B.  Hil- 
dreth,  Ebenezer  Foote,   Abraham   Van  Vechten, 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  Martin  Van  Buren,  Daniel 
Cady  and   Richard   M.    Livingston.     So  far  as  I 
am  able  to  learn  ther^"  is  but  one  surviving  lawyer 
who  was  admitted  to  practice  within  its  forum, 
viz  :  the  venerable  Samuel  A.  Foote  of  Geneva.     He 
studedlaw  with  Judge  James  Thompson  and  board- 
ed with  a  Mr.  Dibble,  who  lived  where  Hiram  Wood 
2* 


38  THE   BENCH   AND   15AK 

now  resides.  He  resided  with  his  brother  Ebeiie- 
zer  Foote,  in  1815,  in  the  city  of  Albany,  and  his 
name  appears  in  our  Common  Pleas  minutes  at 
the  July  term  of  that  year  as  having  been  admit- 
ted to  prsictice  therein.  In  18.")1  Judge  Foote  sat 
in  the  Court  of  Appeals.  He  is  now  (Apiil,  187f),) 
about  eighty- five  years  of  age,  and  recently  argued 
a  case  before  the  Court  of  Appeals. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  BURNING  OF  THE  COUKT  HOUSE. 

Ill  the  last  chapter  tlie  erection  of  the  Court 
House  on  Court  House  Hill  was  described.  Its  lo- 
cation was  admirably  suited  in  some  respects.  It 
stood  on  the  crown  of  an  eminence  and  its  cupola, 
it  is  said  by  old  residents  could  be  seen  at  that 
date  from  every  town,  then  created,  in  the  county. 
It  was  situated  opposite  the  present  residence  of 
Sanford  A.  Pierson.  During  its  existence  Douw 
I.  Fonda  of  Stillwater,  Henry  Davis  of  Halfmoon, 
Seth  C.  Baldwin  of  Ballston,  Daniel  Bull  of  Sara- 
toga, xA.sahel  Porter  of  Greenlield,  Nathaniel  Ketch- 
urn  of  Stillwater,  Hezekiah  Ketchum  of  Halfmoon, 
and  James  Brisbin,  jr.  of  Saratoga  held  the  im- 
portant office  of  sheriff.  The  prisoners  (eight  in 
number;  who  had  been  kept  at  the  expense  of  the 
county  in  the  Albany  jail  were  brought  to  the  cells 
in  the  new  jail  March  23,  1796  by  sheriff  Fonda. 
Enos  Gregory,  Joseph  Palmer,  Samuel  Hollistcr, 
Jonathan  Kellogg  and  Raymond  Taylor  were  suc- 
cessively placed  in  charge  of  it  by  the  sheriff,  in 
the  capacity  of  jailors.  During  the  ]3^rio(l  the 
courts  were  held  within  its  walls  Dirck  Swart  of 
Stillwater,  Seth  C.  Baldwin  of  Ballston,  Levi  H. 
Palmer  of  Milton  and  William  Stilwell  of  the  same 
town  were  clerks  of  the  county  and  ex-officlo  clerks 


40  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

of  the  several  courts. 

Around  the  court  house  a  tliriving  village  was 
growing  and  doubtless  the  owners  of  the  surround- 
ing farms  discussed  the  probable  value  of  "corner 
lots;"  and  saw  in  imagination  their  pastures  and 
corn  fields  bisected  with  avenues  and  streets.  And 
without  doubt  there  were  others  who  saw  with  an 
air  of  dismay  the  ruin  of  their  sylvan  homes  beneath 
the  crushing  weight  of  taxation  for  local  improve- 
ments.  Several  stores  and  two  hotels  were  erected 
and  did  a  "land  office  business"  in  court  terms. 
Two  lawyers,  Messrs.  John  W.  Taylor  and  Samuel 
Cook  early  displayed  their  "shingles"  there,  trust- 
ing in  the  maxim  to  secure  the  "worm."  But  sud- 
denly a  blight  came  over  this  rural  Arcadia  and 
its  hopes  were  forever  blasted.  To-day  the  site  of 
the  court  house  is  as  undistinguishable  from  the 
surrounding  clods  as  were  the  ruins  of  Pompeii  for 
seventeen  centuries.  Let  the  following  from  the 
Independent  Anierican,  published  in  Ballston  Spa, 
March  27,  1816,  tell  the  disastrous  and  tragic  fate 
of  the  court  ho  use  and  one  of  its  unfortunate  in- 
.  mates: 

"On  Sui]';iay  inornin_<:^  last  at  one  o'clock  a  fire  broke  out  in  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  court  house  in  the  town  of  Ballston  which 
had  so  progressed  before  it  was  discovered  that  all  attempts  at 
quelling  it  proved  abortive.  The  air  was  very  still,  otherwise  the 
contiguous  buildinirs  must  have  shared  the  same  fate.  One  of  the 
prisoners  named  George  Billings,. who  was  ciiaiutd  to  the  floor, 
was  unfortunately  consumed.  Four  prisoners.  Shearer,  Davis 
(colored,)  Cole  and  Drapoo  made  their  escape.  Two  of  them  have 
since  been  retaken,  to  wit :  Shearer  and  Davis.  A  court  of  en- 
quiry was  instituted  in  this  village  on  Monday,  and  from  their  ex- 


OF   SARATO<^A   COUNTY.  41 

aiJiiuatiuu  on  Iho  siilyecl  of  the  tire  did  uot  besitalo  lo  give  it  as 
llicir  opinion  lliat  the  lire  was  conmiunicalcd  to  tlie  building  by 
one  or  more  of  the  prisoners." 

This  was  all  that  editor  Coiustock  devoted  space 
to  in  his  account  of  the  thrilling  tragedy.  He  was 
too  much  occu])ied  with  federal  politics  and  spec- 
ulations on  the  probable  outgrowth  of  the  recent 
Napoleonic  wars  in  Europe  to  waste  his  time  in 
home  events.  Consequently  local  items  were  usu- 
ally as  scarce  in  the  Independent  American  as 
"angel's  visits.'' 

From  conversations  had  with  several  old  residents 
and  particularly  with  the  venerable  Mrs.  Sarah  A. 
Boss,  then  Miss  Sarah  A.  Rogers,  daughter  of  the 
founder  and  first  rector  of  Christ  church,  Ballston, 
I  am  able  to  give  the  following  account  of  the  con- 
flagration. Raymond  Taylor,  the  jailor,  it  would 
appear  was  a  man  after  the  manner  of  William  the 
Testy,  described  in  Knickerbacker' s  quaint  "His- 
tory of  the  New  Netherlands."  He  was  a  man 
who  loved  the  almighty  dollar  and  turned  a  nimble 
X>enny  into  dimes  by  keeping  ai-dent  liquors  to  re- 
gale the  drooping  spirits  of  liis  legal  friends,  as 
well  as"  the  passing  traveler.  Pie  felt  all  the  dignity 
attached  to  liis  office  and  woe  to  the  unlucky  wight 
placed  in  his  care  if  he  by  chance  gave  vent  to  an 
unlucky  wo)-d.  Poor  Billings  had  incuiTed  his 
displeasure,  and  on  the  day  before  the  final  tragedy 
he  had  been  securely  chained  tothefloor  by  alarge 
ox  chain  riveted  around  his  body  with  the  ends 
united  around  one  of  the  floor  sills  by  a  rivet.  By 
the  direction  of  the  sherifl:*,  it  was  unlawful  to  fur- 


42.  THE   BENCH   AND   BAR 

nish  lights  to  the  prisoners.  But  Taylor  saw  how 
he  could  do  a  retail  chandler' s  business,  so  he  sold 
candles  to  one  Fones  Cole  of  Northampton,  (^on- 
fined  on  a  charge  of  forgery,  to  enable  him  to  play 
cards  with  Di-apoo.  They  were  in  the  soutli  cell 
with  Shearer,  and  Billings  and  Davis  had  the  nortli 
cell.  In  addition  to  them  there  were  three  debtors 
confined  in  the  debtor's  room.  These  with  one 
Joseph  Mulliken,  a  debtor  "on  the  limits,"  Taylor 
and  his  wife  and  the  latter' s  mother  were  the  in- 
mates of  the  building  on  the  fatal  night. 

Cole  and  Drapoo,  who  had  found  their  confine- 
ment irksome,  set  lire  to  the  wall  of  their  cell  to  burn 
their  way  out.  They  finally  gave  the  alarm  of 
"fire,"  but  Taylor,  who  slept  in  the  southwest  part 
of  the  building  did  not  hear  the  sound.  Mulliken, 
who  slept  in  the  jury  room  above,  was  awakened 
by  the  smoke  and  alarmed  th^"  neighborhood.  It 
was  first  heard  by  Mrs.  Boss  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
McMaster,  mother  of  the  late  Robert  P.  McMaster, 
who  were  watching  by  the  bedside  of  Mrs.  Sarah 
Watrous,  wlio  then  lived  in  the  house  now  owned 
by  Alonzo  B.  Comstock.  They  awoke  the  family, 
and  Thomas  Burritt,  (father  of  Mrs.  A.  J,  Grippen 
of  Ballston  Spa)  an  employee  of  Mr.  Watrous,  who 
bethought  himself  of  the  condition  of  Billings,  ran 
to  Philo  Kurd's  blacksmith  shop  and  with  his  her- 
culean strength  carried  the  ponderous  anvil  and  a 
sledge  to  the  jail.  He  and  Ezekiel  Hoi  ton  (father 
of  county  clerk  Horton)  ran  to  the  cell  of  Billings 
and  placing  the  chain  on  the  anvil  dealt  it  two  pon- 
derous blows.     The   smoke  drov<'  tlH^n   from  tlie 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  43 

room  to  get  breath,  but  Burritt  soon  returned  and 
again  strove  to  lose  tlie  iron  bonds.  He,  too,  was 
suifocated  by  the  hot  smoke  and  fell  to  the  floor 
where  he  was  rescued  by  Mr.  Watrous  in  a  nearly 
exhausted  condition  and  poor  Billings  was  left  to 
the  flames.  The  next  day  his  charred  remains 
were  found  beneath  the  ruins  of  the  chimney.  The 
late  John  Smith  of  Ballston  Spa,  who  was  engaged 
with  Joseph  Barker,  the  day  before  the  tire,  making 
repairs  to  the  cells,  discovered  the  place  in  the 
wall  where  Cole  had  tried  to  burn  through,  and  in- 
formed Taylor  of  it.  The  venerable  Joseph  Gor- 
don has  informed  the  author  that  Taylor  claimed 
that  Billings  knocked  him  down  and  that  was  the 
reason  of  his  being  ironed  to  the  floor. 

In  a  card  to  the  editor  of  the  Independent  Ameri- 
can, dated  April  1,  1816,  Mr.  Taylor  presented  his 
statement  whicii  was  published  in  that  paper  April 
3: 

"To  the  Editor:  Permit  me  through  your  paper  to  express  my 
sincere  feeling  of  gratitude  generally  to  the  citizens  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  court  house  on  the  morning  the  same  was  consumed  by  fire 
by  their  unwearied  exertions  in  assisting  me  to  relieve  a  fellow 
mortal  from  tiie  flames  at  the  risk  of  their  own  lives.  It  is  also  a 
debt  due  from  me  to  mention  that  George  Bennett,  Daniel  Shaw, 
Lemuel  Moore,  and  Abraham  Davis,  (a  black  man)  four  of  the  un- 
fortunate prisoners  who  were  confined  within  the  walls  of  the 
prison  and  who  were  relieved  in  time  to  save  them  from  the  fate 
of  poor  Billings,  who  fell  a  victim  to  the  devouring  elements,  after 
they  were  liberated  did  not  seek  to  escape  but  did  all  in  their  pow- 
er to  save  my  property  As  there  have  been  various  reports  re- 
specting my  loss  by  the  fire,  I  would  barely  mention  that  I  have 
been  particular  in  inventorying  such  articles  as  I  have  ascertained 
to  be  missing  and  the  amount  is  already  between  $800  and  |1,000. 


44  THE   BENCH   AND   BAK 

I  sbiill  preserve  llic  inventory  for  the  iiispeclion  of  an}'  i^cnileuian 
who  wishes  or  will  lake  ibe  trouljle  to  call  on  the  Public's  Flunible 
Servant.  Kaymond  Tayi.uk. 

True  to  his  characteristics  TayU^i-  could  at  once 
shed  a  tear  over  the  fate  of  his  unfortunate  victim 
and  coolly  estimate  his  loss,  but  not  a  woid  said 
of  that  of  the  county. 

Ex-sheriff  Jennings  says  that  Shearer  nuuh^  his 
way  to  Charlton  and  there  hired  a  farmer  to  caiiy 
him  to  Albany.  The  latter  made  it  a  condition 
that  he  should  lie  in  the  bottom  of  the  sleigli  and 
be  covered  with  a  blanket,  and  then  drove  i-apidly 
to  Ballston  and  surrendered  him  to  the  authorities. 
Shei'ifF  Brisbin  offered  a  reward  of  $2o()  for  tlu^  ar- 
rest and  delivery  at  the  Schenectady  jail  of  Fones 
Cole  and  Petei'  Drapoo,  or  $125  for  either  of  tliem. 
Drapoo  was  a  Canadian  and  was  in  custody  as  a 
horse  thief.  Neither  were  recaptured,  but  it  was 
as(;ertained  years  afterwards,  it  is  said,  that  (Jole, 
who  was  a  man  of  good  intellect  and  force,  made 
his  way  to  a  southwestern  state  where  he  lived  un- 
der an  assum«'d  name,  and  at  one  time  represented 
a  constitu(Micy  in  the  national  house  of  representa- 
tiv(?s.  Another  well  infoi-ined  old  gentleman  says 
that  it  is  true  that  he  went  to  the  southwest,  where 
hi'  became  a  noted  river  and  land  ])irafe,  having 
been  none  other  than  the  notorious  Jolm  A.  Mur- 
rell.  It  is  a  ftict  that  Murrell's  '^Life"  tells  of  his 
escaping  from  Ballston  jail  by  burning  the  build- 
ine:.  Taylor  was  indicted  for  a  misdiMneanor  in 
allowing  the  juisoneis  to  have  a  light,  and  at  the 
.January  Sessions  1818,  in  the  absence  of  District 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  45 

Attorney  Livingston,  Maj.  Azariali  W.  Odell  (Tay- 
lor's attorney)  was  appointed  special  district  attor- 
ney by  order  of  the  court.  He  improved  the  oppor- 
tunity to  enter  an  nol  pros  on  the  indictment.  At 
the  ensuing  Oyer  and  Terminer,  Mr.  Livingston 
moved  Taylor  s  trial  on  the  ground  that  he  had  not 
consented  to  his  discharge  from  arrest,  but  Judge 
Van  Ness  held  that  the  Court  of  General  Sessions 
being  a  distinct  tribunal  of  competent  jurisdiction, 
he  had  no  power  to  interfere.  Thus  the  matter 
ended,  and  here  closes  the  history  of  the  lirst  court 
house  of  Saratoga  county  and  of  the  town  of  Balls- 
town  as  the  county  seat. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CHANGING  THE  COUNTY  SEAT. 

During  the  time  mentioned  in  the  two  preceding 
chapters  the  development  of  the  mineral  springs  at 
Ballston  Spa  and  Saratoga  Springs  made  them  the 
chief  centers  of  the  connty.     Lying  but  seven  miles 
apart  a  rivalry  sprung  up  between  them  and  each 
sought  to  gain  an  advantage  over  the  other.     The 
court  house  had  no  sooner  been  burned  than  a  mass 
meeting  of  the  citizens  of  the  former  village  was 
held  to  consider  a  most  important  question.     It 
was  presided  over  by  James  Merrill,  and  Joel  Lee 
was  its  secretary.     They  resolved  to  ask  the  Judges 
of  Common  Pleas  to  order  that  the  courts  of  the 
county  should  for  the  time  being  be  held  in  the  pub- 
lic building  or  academy,  of  the  village,  which  stood 
upon  what  is  now  Science  street,  a  few  feet  south 
of  the  railroad,  and  tendered  the  free  use  of  the 
building.     The  offer  was  accepted  by  Judge  Child 
and  his  co-adjutors.     By  an  act  of  the  legislator 
passed  March  14,  1817,  Elislia  Powell  and  James 
Merrill  of  Milton,  Isaac  Gfere  of  (-falway,  and  John 
Gibson  of  Ballston,  and  Gilbeit  Waring  of  Sarato- 
ga, were  appointed  a  commission  to  re-locate  the 
county  seat,  and  to  build  a  court  house  and  jail  at 
the  expense  of  $10,000.     Both  political  parties  were 
represented  in  tlie  commission,  and  they  soon  set 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  47 

themselves  at  work  in  good  faith  to  settle  the  loca- 
tion of  the  court  house.  The  claims  of  Court  House 
Hill  was  presented  by  Samuel  De  Forest ;  Saratoga 
Springs  was  heard  by  Gideon  Putnam,  Ashbel 
Andrews  and  Henry  Walton  (who  had  removed 
from  what  is  known  as  the  Delavan  place  in  Balls- 
ton  to  that  village)  ;  Gen.  Dunning  made  a  liberal 
proposition  to  have  the  county  buildings  located  at 
Dunning  Street;  and  John  Cramer,  John  L.  Yiele 
and  Joshua  Bloore  urged  that  Waterford  was  tlie 
place  of  all  others  ;  but  Ballston  Spa  and  the  town 
of  Milton  having  the  influence  of  Judge  Powell, 
James  Merrill  and  Isaac  Gere  in  the  commission, 
won  the  coveted  honor,  which  it  still  retains.  The 
selection,  too  was  largely  owing  to  the  efforts  of 
Judge  Cook  of  Ballston  Spa,  and  Thomas  C.  Taylor 
and  Nicholas  Low  of  New  York,  who  owned  large 
tracts  of  land  in  and  adjoining  the  village.  Mr. 
Low,  in  fact,  deeded  to  the  county  as  a  free  gift  the 
land  on  which  the  court  house  and  county  clerk's 
office  now  stands. 

The  commissioners  reported  to  the  l^oard  of  su- 
pervisors at  their  fall  session  that  they  had  decided 
on  a  location,  and  on  motion  of  Joel  Keeler,  super- 
visor of  Milton,  the  report  was  adopted  and  Milton 
was  formally  declared  to  be  the  shire  town.  The 
proceedings  of  the  board  do  not  give  the  ayes  and 
nays  on  the  motion,  if  they  were  ordered.  Also  on 
his  motion,  James  McCrea,  who  was  a  nephew  of 
Jane  McCrea,  of  revolutionary  memory,  and  who 
was  the  supervisor  of  Ballston,  was  appointed  a 


48  THE  BENCH  AND   BAK. 

committee  "to  grade  the  new  court  house  grounds 
at  a  cost  not  to  exceed  $50." 

The  new  court  house  was  built  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  commissioners,  by  tlie  late  Stephen  S. 
Seaman.  The  mason  work  of  the  structure  was 
performed  under  the  direction  of  Joseph  Barker, 
then  a  leading  builder  of  this  county,  residing  at 
Ballston  Spa.  He  is  still  living  (May  1876)  in  a  se- 
rene old  age  at  Spencerport,  Monroe  county.  New 
York,  and  retains  a  strong  and  vivid  memory  of 
the  early  days  of  Saratoga  county  and  of  the  men 
with  whom  he  was  associated.  The  court  house 
consisted  of  the  present  brick  structure,  without 
the  wing,  and  was  built  on  the  model  of  the  old  one 
with  the  exception  that  on  the  second  floor  the 
court  room  was  assigned  to  the  north  side.  Its  di- 
mensions are  sixty-six  by  fifty  feet ;  the  wing  not 
having  been  added  until  some  years  later.  It  was 
satisfactorily  completed  in  time  for  the  spring  Cir- 
cuit Court  in  1819,  and  in  the  ensuing  fall,  on  mo- 
tion of  Calvin  Wheeler,  supervisor  of  Providence, 
the  new  court  house  was  formally  accepted,  and  the 
bonds  given  by  the  commissioners  in  pursuance  of 
the  statute  were  cancelled.  It  was  enlarged,  by 
the  addition  of  the  wing,  by  order  of  the  supervi- 
sors during  the  shrievalty  of  Thomas  Low.  The 
work  was  performed  under  the  direction  of  Henry 
Wright  of  Milton. 

At  the  term  of  the  Common  Pleas  held  in  the 
academy,  the  time  of  the  court  was  frequently 
taken  up  with  disputes  arising  from  the  poor  au- 
tliorities  of  one  town  sending  their  paupers  within 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  49 

the  bounds  of  another  town.  At  that  time  each 
town  of  the  state  took  care  of  its  own  poor,  and 
their  keeping  was  sold  at  each  town  meeting  to  the 
lowest  bidder.  It  was  not  until  1827  that  the  coun- 
ty system  was  adopted  and  a  more  humane  policy 
pursued  towards  the  unfortunate  paupers. 

By  an  act  of  the  legislature  of  1818,  the  then 
judges  of  the  Courts  of  Common  Pleas  and  General 
Sessions  were  set  aside  and  their  tennre  of  office 
declared  terminated.  Governor  De  Witt  Clinton, 
by  the  direction  of  the  council  of  aj^pointment,  June 
16,  1818,  commissioned  James  Thompson  of  Milton 
to  be  first  judge,  and  Salmon  Child  of  Greenfield, 
Abraham  Moe  of  Halfmoon,  James  McCrea  of 
Ballston,  and  John  Prior  of  Greenfield,  to  be  judges 
of  this  county  in  the  courts  of  Common  Pleas  and 
General  Sessions,  and  ex  officio  members  of  the 
court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer.  During  the  time  that 
there  was  no  jail  in  the  county  the  sheriff  was  au- 
thorized by  the  supervisors  to  contract  with  the 
Schenectady  sheriff  for  their  confinement  in  the  jail 
of  that  county.  When  the  criminal  courts  were 
held  the  prisoners  were  brought  up  under  guard 
and  kept  at  Clark' s  hotel,  which  stood  on  the  west 
side  of  Front  street,  where  the  railroad  embank- 
ment has  since  been  constructed.  Ex-sherift*  Jen- 
nings recollects  that  he  once,  as  a  deputy  under 
sheriff  John  Dunning,  brought  up  twelve  at  one 
time  handcuffed  together,  and  as  there  was  a  scarc- 
ity of  constables  on  his  arrival  he  unlocked  one 
handcuff,  passed  it  around  a  tree  which  stood  near 
by  the  court  liouse,  and  then  relocked  it  to  the 
3 


50  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

wrist  of  the  culprit,  thus  safely  fastening  them  un- 
til he  could  secure  his  team. 

Afthe  Sessions  in  August,  1816,  John  Cross  of 
Mechanicville  and  Farquliar  McBain  of  Ballston 
Spa  were  each  fined  $1.50  ''for  selling  liquoi-  on  the 
Sabl)ath  contrar\^  to  the  statutt\"  At  the  June 
Sessions,  1818,  Benjamin  Bennett  was  lined  $5  for 
assault  and  battery  on  Peter  Mallery.  One  year 
later  he  again  appeared  in  the  courts  as  the  mur- 
derer of  Setli  Haskins. 

In  1816  the  fair  records  of  our  county  were  stained 
for  the  first  time  with  the  details  of  a  trial  and  con- 
viction for  murder..    Daniel  Northrup  of  Gal  way 
had  in  the  spring  of  1816  murdered  Cornelius  Allen, 
a  larmer  who  lived  in  that  town,  near  the  Charlton 
line.     JNorthrup  was  a  man  of  a  low  order  of  intel- 
lect and  very  passionate.     He  lived  at  the  time  of 
the   murder  in^  the  family  of  his   victim.     Allen 
called  him  to  breakfast  one  morning  at  an  early 
hour.     He  arose  cross  and  moroso.     At  the  break- 
fast table  some  angry  words  passed,   and  North- 
rup, seizing  a  knife,  stabbed  Allen  across  tlie  table, 
intlicting  moi-tai  wounds.     He  was  arrested  and  in- 
dicted and  brought  to  trial  at  an  Oyer  and  Termin- 
er held  in  September  of  1816,  before  Judge  Smith 
Thom])son,_alter wards  one  oftlie  judges  of  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court.     At  his  trial  the  i)eo- 
ple  were^re])resented  by  Attorniy  -general  Thoiiias 
.1.   Oakhy   and  James  Thompson..    The  prisoner 
was  defended  by  Messrs.  Samuel  Cook  and  John 
W.  Taylor.     The  defense  was  that  the  prisoner  was 
nofi  covipoa  'iiieiiti^.     The  commission  of  the  mur- 
der was  proved  by  the  victim's  widow,  andtliedis- 


OF   SARATOGA    .  OTT]VTY.  51 

eased  mind  of  the  priyouei-  by  his  mother,  two 
l)i'others,  and  Alexander  S.  Piatt.  Under  the  rul- 
ing of  the  court  he  was  convicted  and  sentenced  to 
be  hanged  on  the  last  Friday  in  November  of  tliat 
year,  but  Judge  Smith  Thompson  united  in  a  pe- 
tition for  his  pardon,  and  wrote  a  letter  to  Gov. 
Tompkins,  suggesting  that  it  would  be  advisable. 
On  the  recommendation  of  Gov.  Tompkins  the  leg- 
islature granted  a  pardon  to  Northrup.  He  was 
adjudged  a  lunatic  by  th(3  proper  tribunal  and  was 
confined  by  his  friends  in  a  private  asylum  until 
his  death,  about  twelve  years  later.  In  1817  Judge 
Yates  sentenced  Noah  Drew,  the  leader  of  a  gang 
of  notorious  counterfeiters,  to  states  prison  for  eiglit 
years;  and  in  1818  Judge  Van  Ness,  in  an  Oyer 
and  Terminer  held  in  the  Baptist  church  in  Balls- 
ton  Spa,  sentenced  one  Robert  Morris  to  pay  a  line 
of  six  cents  for  burglary  and  petit  larceny.  This 
light  sentence  was  imposed,  says  the  record,  "in 
consideration  of  his  \o\\^  confinement  in  Jail." 

All  subsequent  terms  of  the  courts  held  in  this 
county  have  been  held  in  the  coui't  house  in  tiii' 
village  of  Ballston  Spa. 


CHAPTER  V. 

IMPORTANT   (CAUSES  TRIED   AT   SAltATOGA   CIRCUIT 
PRIOR  TO  1819. 

The  clerk's  minutes  of  the  causes  tried  in  this 
county  to  the  erection  of  this  present  court  liouse 
and  tlie  first  term  hekl  therein  are  \ery  meagre, 
and  the  importance  of  the  issues  involved  in  them 
can  not  be  deduced  therefrom.  Unlike  important 
criminal  trials  there  are  no  traditions  handed  down 
from  sire  to  son  regarding  the  merits  of  the  cases, 
or  the  chief  a(;tors  therein.  Therefore  I  have  sought 
the  most  available  evidence  extant  of  the  impor- 
tance of  the  issues  involved  in  certain  actions  tried 
in  the  early  days  of  its  judicial  history,  being  that 
found  in  the  reports  of  cases  reviewed  on  appeal  in 
the  "Supreme  Court  of  Judicature,"  or  in  the 
"Court  for  the  Correction  of  Errors." 

William  Bradshavv  etal.^  plaintiff  in  error  against 
Patrick  Calhighan  and  wife,  defendants  in  error. 
This  was  action  in  partition  to  divide  the  lands  of 
which  James  Bradshaw,  late  of  Charlton,  deceased, 
had  died  possessed.  Mary  Bradshaw,  his  widow, 
was  joined  as  a  party  defendant  b}-  Calhighan,  who 
was  the  plaintiff  in  the  Circuit  Court.  It  was 
brought  to  trial  at  the  Saratoga  Circuit  in  May  1800, 
before  Chief  .1  ustice  Kent.  A  verdict  for  the  plain- 
tiff with  costs  against  all  the  defendants  was  ren- 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  53 

dered.  On  appeal  to  the  Court  of  Errors,  the  judg- 
ment as  to  Maiy  Bradshaw  was  reversed,  and  the 
remainder  was  affirmed.  Chancellor  Lansing  pro- 
nounced the  opinion  of  the  court,  holding  that  a 
widow' s  dower  is  not  effected  by  a  suit  in  partition, 
nor  is  she  chargeable  with  costs  in  such  suit.  The 
case  is  reported  in  8  Jo?i?i^'ou'  s  Jieporls  558.  Sam uel 
Cook  and  John  W.  Taylor  were  plaintiff's  attor- 
neys, and  M.  Van  Everen  jr.  for  the  defendants. 

Under  the  old  and  cumbrous  practice  of  the  Com- 
mon law,  actions  for  the  recovery  of  real  estate  on 
the  part  of  the  heirs  at  law  of  deceased  persons 
could  not  be  commenced  in  the  name  of  the  real 
party  in  interest,  but  ex  deml-s-s-ione  under  the  title 
of  James  Jackson,  or  some  otlier  alias.  This 
James  Jackson  was  a  fictitious  personage  supposed 
to  be  an  Irish  cousin  of  John  Doe  and  Richard  Roe. 
Thus  I  find  the  case  of  James  Jackson,  ex  dem. 
Henry  Livingston  against  Alexander  Bryan,  which 
is  rei)orted  in  1  Johnson  322.  This  was  an  action 
brought  for  the  ejectment  of  Biyan  from  "lot  7, 
class  3  of  house  lots  in  lot  7,  in  subdivision  of  lot 
12  in  allotment  16  of  Kayaderosseras  patent."  The 
premises  prior  to  the  revolution  belonged  to  Isaac 
Low,  who  adhered  to  the  British  cause.  His  prop- 
erty was  sold  on  a  bill  of  attainder  in  1786  and  the 
lot  in  (]uestion  was])urchased  by  Henry  Livingston. 
In  J 775.  Low  had  permitted  one  Samuel  iN(n-ton  to 
occupy  said  hit.  Norton  joined  the  British  army 
and  died  therein.  In  1783  his  family  returned  to 
the  premises,  and  in  1787  a  son  of  Norton  pro- 
cured permission  from  Livingston  to  remain.     Dan 


M  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

iel  Norton,  the  son,  sold  his  improvements  to  Gid- 
eon Morgan  who  conveyed  to  defendant  Bryan  for 
$100.  The  permission  from  Livingston  to  Norton 
was  in  writing  and  contained  no  reservation  of 
rents.  Bryan  admitted  the  foregoing,  bnt  claimed 
that  having  had  possession  of  the  premises  undis- 
tnrbed  for  over  thirty  years  he  held  it  adv^erse  to 
plaintiff's  claim  of  title.  It  was  brought  to  trial 
at  the  Saratoga  Circuit  in  June  1805  before  Judge 
Spencer  who  entered  a  non-sidt.  The  case  was  re- 
viewed in  the  Supreme  Court,  and  the  j  iidgment  of 
non-suit  was  affirmed.  Levi  H.  Palmer  was  plain- 
tiff's  attorney,  and  Samuel  Cook,  the  defendant's. 
John  Bryan,  a  son  of  Alexander,  to  perfect  the 
claim  of  title  from  the  patentees,  purchased  the  in- 
terest of  Henry  Livingston,  The  lands  in  question 
contained  the  celebrated  "High  Rock  Spring'"  in 
Saratoga  Springs.  Part  of  the  premises  held  by 
Alexander  Bryan  in  the  XII  allotment,  by  convey- 
ance from  Danit4  Norton  through  Morgan,  is  now 
owned  by  his  grandson,  Jolm  A.  Bryan,  a  member 
of  the  bai'  of  this  county.  Alexander  Bryan  lies 
in  Grecnridge  Cemetc^ry  whei-e  a  few  years  since 
his  grandson,  above  named,  eret^ted  a  monument 
to  his  memory  ))Ha.ring  this  inscription  : 

"IN  MEMORY  OF 

ALEXANDER    BRYAN. 

Died  April  U,  1W5,  a<j;t;d  92  years.  'I'lie  tirst  pcrmauent  settler, 
and  llu!  tiisl  to  i<c'pp  ;•.  public  house  here,  for  visitors.  An  unpaid 
patriot  who,  alone,  and  at  great  peril,  gave  the  first  and  «nly  infor- 
mation of  Burgoyne's  intended  ailvance  on  Stillwater,  vviiici)  led 
to  timely  preparations  for  ihe  battle  «f  Septenil)er  10— fallowed  by 
tlie  memmorable  victory  of  October  7,  1777." 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  55 

Another  important  case  was  tliat  of  James  Jack- 
son ex  (Jem.  James  Waldron  and  Elzie,  his  wife 
against  Abraham  Welden.  The  Waldrons  owned 
certain  lands  of  ill  defined  boundaries  in  the  Half- 
moon  patent,  part  of  which  they  had  leased  to  Wel- 
den. A  commission  was  afterwards  appointed  to 
survey  lines  and  settle  disputed  boundaries  of  the 
Halfmoon,  Shannondhoi  and  Kayaderosseras  pat- 
ents. They  filed  their  report  and  map  in  Saratoga 
county  February  5,  1794.  By  this  survey  in  was 
found  that  the  farm  was  in  the  latter  patent  and 
was  included  in  the  lands  owned  by  Tobias  C.  Ten 
E3^ck  by  conveyance  from  the  o]"iginal  patentees. 
Soon  afterwards  Welden  purchased  the  fee  simple 
ofTenEyck,  and  in  1806  the  Waldrons  began  a 
suit  in  ejectment  to  oust  him.  Tried  at  the  Sara- 
toga Circuit  in  1807  before  Judge  Spencer,  and  a 
verdict  for  the  plaintiif  entered  for  the  recovery  of 
the  lands,  with  costs.  On  appeal  to  the  Supreme 
Court  it  was  held  that  the  plaintiffs  were  bound  by 
the  report  of  the  commissioners  and  the  judgment 
was  reversed.  This  case  was  reported  3  Johnson 
283.  Sanders^ Lansing  was  attorney  for  the  claim- 
ants, and  Guert  Van  Schoonhoven  defended  Wei 
den's  interests. 

William  Pangburn  against  James  Partridge.  Ac- 
tion in  replevin,  tried  at  the  Saratoga  Circuit,  May 
1810  before  Judge  Van  Ness,  J.  B.  Yates  for  the 
plaintiff  and  John  W.  'J'aylor  for  the  defendant. 
The  plaintiff  complained  that  defendant  had  taken 
from  his  ''keep'*  one  heifer  of  the  value  of  $10. 
Defendant  plead  non  cepit  and  further  alleged  that 


^^  THE   BEjSTCH  and   BAK 

he  took  said  lieifer  for  a  debt  owed  him  by  ])lain- 
tiff.  Judge  Van  Ness  granted  a  non-suit.  *  On  mo- 
tion for  a  new  trial  in  the  Supreme  Court,  it  was 
lield  that  replevin  lies  for  any  tortious  or  unlawful 
taking  ;  and  not  for  distress  only.  Motion  gia  iit(xl. 
Reported  in  7  JoJinson  140. 

James  Jackson  ex  dem  James  Rogers  against 
AVilliam  Clark.  Action  for  ejectment  tried  at  the 
Saratoga  Circuit  in  1810  before  Judge  Van  Ness. 
L.  H.  Palmer  and  A.  Van  Vechten  for  plaintiff  and 
John  W.  Taylor  for  defendant.  Verdict  for  de- 
fendant, and  on  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court,  it 
was  affirmed  ;  the  court  holding  that  if  in  the  des- 
cription of  an  estate  in  a  deed  of  conveyance  there 
are  particulars  sufficient  to  ascertain  the  correct 
bounds;  mistakes  will  not  frustrate  the  intent  of 
such  indenture.     7  Jolinson  216. 

rlames  Jackson  ex  dem.  John,  James,  Ra<'hel  and 
iMary  White  against  Charlotte  White.  This  was 
ail  a(;tion  in  ejectment  brought  by  the  heirs  at  law 
of  Stephen  TI.  White,  late  of  Ballston  Spa,  deceas- 
ed against  his  widow,  the  devisee  under  his  will. 
White,  who  died  in  1808,  was  a  clothier  and  died  in 
possession  of  a  large  boarding  hous(^  and  eighteen 
acres  of  laud  which  under  ceitain  conditions  lie 
willed  to  his  witr  ('liarlotte  as  follows  :  "'all  that 
large  and  convenient  dwi^lling  lious*^  with  all  the 
a]»})urtenances  and  ])rivileges  thereunto  pertaining 
and  the  same  which  is  now  improved  by  me  as  a 
))o;n'ding  house."  It  was  brought  to  trial  befoi-e 
.ludge  V'aii  Ness  and  a  Jur}  at  the  Ma}  circuit  in 
1810.     Levi  H.  Palmer  was  attorney  for  the  plain 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  57 

tift  and  Henry  Walton  for  the  defendant.  The 
plaintiff' s  were  the  father,  brother  and  sisters  of  the 
testator.  They  claimed  that  that  portion  of  eighteen 
acres  not  in  the  close  of  the  hoarding  honse  was 
not  included  in  the  terms  of  the  will,  and  by  their 
next  friend,  Epenetus  White  jr.,  sought  to  oust  the 
defendant  who  was  in  possession.  The  defense 
sought  to  establish  that  the  testator  occupied  all  of 
the  eighteen  acres  as  a  messuage  of  his  boarding 
liouse,  either  as  a  deer  park,  cow  jmsture,  or  as  a 
vegetable  garden  for  the  use  of  said  boarding  house. 
A  verdict  was  rendered  for  the  defendant,  which 
was  affirmed  on  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court.  8 
Johnson  59. 

James  Jackson  ex  clem.  Thomas  Rogers  against 
Joseph  Potter.  This  was  an  action  in  ejectment  to 
oust  defendant  from  100  acres  of  land  in  the  town 
of  Moreau.  The  premises  were  those  formerly 
owned  by  David  Rogers,  who  made  a  will  October 
19,  1805,  and  who  died  November  8,  1810.  After 
making  his  will  he  acquired  the  title  to  the  premis- 
es in  question.  By  the  terms  of  his  will,  which  he 
never  revoked,  or  altered  by  codicil,  he  devised  all 
of  his' real  estate  of  which  he  should  die  seized  to 
his  two  natural  sons.  H.  Bleecker  was  attorney 
for  the  plaintiff,  who  was  the  legal  heir,  and  J.  B. 
Skinner  for  the  defendant,  who  claimed  to  hold  by 
a  deed  from  the  devisees  named  in  the  will.  A 
verdict  was  given  for  the  plaintiffs  at  the  Saratoga 
Circuit  in  1812.  Judgment  affirmed  by  th(3  Supreme 
Court,  which  held  that  a  devise  of  lands  will  not 
operate  upon  lands  purchased  after  the  execivtion 


58  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

of  a  will,  unless  subsequent  to  such  purchase  the 
devisor  republishes  his  said  will  with  the  rec^uisite 
solemnities.     9  Jolinfion  312. 

Jackson  ex  clem.  Samuel  Woodruff  against  John 
Gilchrist.     Action  brought  to  eject  Woodruff  from 
lot  2  of  subdivision  of  lot  8,  in  the  13th  allotment 
of  the  Kayaderosseras  patent.    Levi  H.  Palmer  and 
John  Y.  Henry  for   plaintiff,  and  M.  Van  Everen 
jr.,  Martin  Van  Buirn  and  Abraham  Van  Vechten 
for  defendant.     The  suit  was  brought  to  trial  at  the 
Saratoga  Circuit  in  1816,  before  Judge  Piatt,  with 
a  jury.     The  plaintiff  proved  title  by  descent  from 
Ann  Bridges,  afterward  Ann  Hunloke,  one  of  the 
original  patentees  named  in  the  patent  of  Kayad- 
erosseras granted  by  Queen  Anne,  dated  Novem!)er 
2,  1708.     Defendant  plead  title  and  proved  a  com- 
plete chain  from  a  conveyance  made  by  Joshua  Hun- 
loke and  Ann  his  wife  to  Peter  Pauconier,  bearing 
date  February  10,  1711,  which  bore  this  endorse- 
ment:   ''That  this  day  came  before  me,  one  of  his 
majesty's  justices   for   the   (;ounty  of  Essex,  the 
within  named  Joshua  Hunloke  and  Ann  his  wife 
to  acknowledge  this  indentuie  to  be  their  acts  aiKl 
deed,  this  17  of  February,  1711.     Attested  per  me, 
Jno.    Blanchard."     After   healing   the   testimony 
the  jury  by  direction  of  the  court  i-eturncd  a  vi^-dict 
for  the  plaintiff",  subject  to  the  opinion  of  the  Su- 
pn^mn  Court.     The  opinion  of  that  tribunal   was 
given  by  Chief  justice  Thonipst)n,  who  held  that 
the  law  could  not  presume  that  the  certificate  could 
mean  merely  that  the  parties  cami-  before  the  justice 
to  acknowl(Mlg('  thr  deed,  ])Ht  that  it  went   (uriher 


OF   SAKATOGA   COUNTY.  59 

and  held  that  they  did  so  acknowledge  it ;  and  that 
after  sncli  a  lapse  of  time  the  privat'^  examination 
of  the  wife  ought  to  be  presumed,  and  that  the 
estate  thus  acknowledged  was  conlirmed  by  the  act 
of  General  Assembly  passed  in  1771.  Judgmentre- 
versed.  15  Johnson  88.  This  celebrated  cause  is 
yet  distinctljT-  remembered  b}^  the  old  residents  of 
Charlton,  it  being  called  by  them  "the  great  land 
case."  They  tell  of  the  e^zorwo?/;,^  fee  charged  by 
Mr.  Van  Buren,  whose  services,  they  say,  were 
confined  to  a  two  hours'  address  before  the  jury. 
They  little  think  of  the  hours  of  study  the  brilliant 
advocate  spent  in  mastering  the  vague  details  of  the 
case,  or  of  his  commanding  influence  over  the  Su- 
])reme  Court,  exerted  in  carrying  the  knotty  point 
in  Gik'.hrist's  favor,  or  they  would  not  have  deemed 
]iis  live  hundred  dollars  so  very  exorbitant.  Thus 
early  did  ourliighest  courts  set  the  stamp  of  disap- 
proval on  claims  of  real  estate  whose  titles  verge 
on  the  extremity  of  doubt.  Subsequent  to  the  de- 
cision the  hopes  of  tlie  heirs  of  Aneke  Jans  and 
otliers  by-gone  worthies  liave  been  buried  under 
many  adverse  decisions,  but  like  Banquo's  ghost 
they  refused  to  "down." 

Edward  Fitch  and  Gilbert  M.  Wright,  executors 
of  Ebenezer  Fitch  against  Setli  C.  Baldwin.  Tliis 
case,  repoi-t<Hl  in  17  Jolinmih  161,  was  an  action  on 
an  alleged  covenaiit  seizin  which  was  brougiit  to  a, 
trial  at  Saratoga  Circuit  June  1818,  before  .Judge 
William  W.  \'a\\  Ness  and  a  jury.  James  Mc- 
Kown,  John  V.  Henry  and  Martin  Van  Buren 
managed  the  plaintiff's  case,  while  the  defendant's 
interests  were  guarded  by  Samuel  G.  Huntingtoii 


60  THE   BENCH   AND   BAR. 

and  Abraliam  Van  Vecliten.  The  respective  boun- 
daries of  the  Saratoga  and  Kayaderosseras  patents 
were  the  questions  in  issue,  although  the  case  ulti- 
mately turned  upon  another  point  raised  b}'  the 
defendant.  Fitch  insisted  that  the  one  hundred 
and  sixty-tive  acres  of  land  in  the  town  of  Saratoga, 
which  was  claimed  by  him,  were  a  part  of  the  west 
end  of  lot  1 6  of  great  lot  25  of  the  Saratoga  patent, 
granted  to  Peter  Schuyler  and  otliers  Octo})er  9, 
1708,  as  distinguished  on  a  map  made  by  John  R. 
Bleecker  in  1750  ;  and  which  was  purchased  by 
Ebenezer  Fitch  of  Jonathan  Lawrence,  one  of  the 
patentees,  January  25,  1798.  On  the  contrary,  the 
defendant's  pleadings  set  up  that  it  was  lots  10 and 
11  in  the  ninth  allotment  of  the  Kayaderosseras 
patent.  The  ignorance  of  the  royal  grantor  of  the 
vast  domain  she  was  deed  in  the 'western  world 
was  equal  only  to  the  cupidity  of  the  grantees  and 
the  evident  carelessness  of  their  surveyors,  for  it  was 
found  that  the  boundary  lines  of  all  of  Queen  Anne's 
patents  overlapped  each  other  ;  and  this  was  but 
one  of  the  many  suits  which  occupied  the  state 
courts  for  half  a  century  in  rectifying  the  conllict- 
ting  claims  under  color  of  title  from  the  different 
patentees.  .  The  defendant  also  plead  esto'ppd^  and 
offered  a  writing  under  the  hands  and  seals  of  Fitch, 
the  testatoi',  and  Baldwin,  the  defendant,  dated 
May  22,  1812,  by  which  it  was  argued  that  the  de- 
fendant should  withdraw  a  suit  against  the  testator 
for  the  possession  of  certain  lands  in  Saratoga,  and 
each  i)arty  pay  his  own  costs  ;  by  which  the  tes- 
tator released  to  defendant  all  the  lands  in  lots  10 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  61 

and  11  in  the  ninth  allotment  of  the  patent  of  Kay. 
aderosseras,  not  included  in  a  deed  from  Jonathan 
Lawrence.     By  this  agreement  a  survey  was  to  be 
made  by  one  Caleb  Ellis,  who  made  such  survey 
and  found  the  lands  to  be  in  the  patent  of  Kay  ade- 
rosseras.    An  able  and  exhaustive  argument  fol- 
lowed in  which  Mr.  Van  Vechten  supported  the 
offer,   and  Mr.    Van  Buren   opposed.     The  latter 
gained  his  point.     The  court  ruled  out  the  evidence, 
it  appearing,  during  the  argument  on  the  offer,  that 
Ebenezer  Pitch  was  an  old  man,  who  trusted  much 
to  the  clear  head  of  his  son  Edward.     The  wily 
Baldwin  took  advantage  of  the  latter' s  absence  in 
Albany,  and  procured  the  elder  Fitch' s  signature 
by  misrepresentations.     The  court  directed  a   ver- 
dict for  the  plaintiff  for  $1,819.58  and  costs.     An 
appeal  was  taken  to  the  Supreme  Court,  where  the 
judgment  was  reversed.     The  court  held  that  the 
plaintiff  was  estopped  by  the  testator' s  execution 
and   acceptance  of  said  agreement  from   alleging 
that  the  lands  released  did  not  lie  in  the  patent  of 
Kayaderosseras.     If,  however,  there  was  fraud  on 
the  part  of  the  defendant  in  the  execution  of  said 
agreement,  the  plaintiff  could  gain  relief  by  a  bill 
in  Chancery.     This  decision,  so  often  quoted  as  a 
ruling  case  in  estopjjels,   was,  however,   declared 
erroneous.      The  next  year,    Mr.    Henry   having 
secured  a  re- argument,  the  Supreme  Court  affirmed 
the  verdict  of  the  Circuit.     This  decision  was  not 
reported,  by  some  oversight,  but  of  the  fact  I  am 
informed  by  Gen.  E.  F.  Bullard,  who  is  a  grand- 
3* 


62  THE  BENCH   AND   BAB 

son  of  Ebenezer  Fitcli.  Mr.  Van  Buren'  s  fee  for 
the  argument  of  this  case  (he  was  not  present  at  the 
trial)  was  fifty  dollars.  This  is  in  marked  contrast 
with  the  expenses  of  litigation  in  the  present  year 
of  grace.  Van  Buren  then  stood  in  the  same  rela- 
tion to  the  bar  of  this  state  as  at  the  present  do 
Charles  O' Conor,  and  William  M.  Evarts.  Their 
fees  of  $5,000  and  $10,000  are  in  strong  contrast 
with  that  recorded  in  this  instance ;  and,  indeed, 
it  may  be  doubted  if  the  services  of  a  counselor  of 
the  first  rank  could  now  be  secured  in  a  case  in- 
volving no  larger  pecuniary  interests  than  that  of 
Fitch  x>s.  Baldwin. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

.TRIALS  IN  OYER  AND  TERMINER.  1819—47. 

Around  the  court  house  whose  completion  we 
witnessed  in  the  fourth  chapter,  gather  the  bright- 
est memories  of  tlie  Saratoga  county  bar.  Within 
the  forum  enclosed  by  the  four  posts  of  its  bar  cir- 
cle and  from  its  bench  have  been  uttered  some  of 
the  most  glowing  periods  in  our  tongue  ;  to  attempt 
to  describe  which,  or  to  enumerate  the  brilliant 
names  would  be  to  guild  the  stars  or  paint  the 
azure.  Its  history  will  ever  be  sacred  in  the  minds 
and  memories  of  those  permitted  in  later  days  to 
walk  within  its  sacred  precincts.  Like  the  Roman 
standing  in  the  midst  of  the  ancient  forum  and  list- 
ening in  vain  for  the  voices  that  were  wont  of  old 
to  awaken  its  echoes,  so  do  we  now  fail  to  hear  the 
strains  of  majestic  eloquence  which  have  fallen  from 
cunning  lips  within  the  walls  of  our  time-honored 
court  room. 

The  first  Circuit  Court  and  Oyer  and  Terminer 
held  in  it  convened  on  Tuesday,  May  25,  1819.  It 
was  presid-^d  over  by  Chipf  Justice  Ambrose  Spen- 
cer, assisted  by  James  Thompson,  first  judge,  and 
James  McCrea  and  Abraham  Moe,  judges.  The 
court  officers  were  Thomas  Palmer,  clerk  ;  General 
John  Dunning,  sheriff;  Richard  Montgomery  Liv- 
ingston,  district    attorney  and  Ezra  Buel,  crier. 


64  THE   BENCH   AND   BAR 

By  the  act  of  April  21,  1818,  the  office  of  district 
attorney  was  limited  to  each  county,  and  Mr.  Liv- 
ingston was  the  first  appointed  for  Saratoga.  He 
held  office  until  February  18,  1821,  when  he  was 
succeeded  b_y  William  L.  F.  Warren.  They  held 
their  office  by  appointment  of  tlin  Court  of  Sessions. 
Gen.  Earl  Stimson  was  foreman  of  the  grand  jury. 
S.even  indictments  were  found  at  this  term,  one 
being  against  Isaac  G.  Armstrong,  charging  him 
with  polygamy.  He  was  tried  at  tlie  Sessions  in 
the  following  August.  Notwithstanding  he  was 
defended  by  Esek  Cowen  and  Azariah  W.  Odell, 
he  was  convicted  and  sentenced  to  five  years  in 
states  prison  at  hard  labor. 

The  second  Circuit  and  Oyer  met  May  3(J,  1820. 
It  was  destined  to  be  the  first  court  in  this  county 
which  directed  the  execution  of  a  murderer,  whose 
mandate  was  fulhlled.  Benjamin  Bennett,  who  had 
been  indicted  at  the  previous  Sessions  for  the  kill- 
ing of  Seth  Haskins  in  Corinth,  September  4,  1819, 
was  brought  to  tri  al .  The  court  consisted  of  J udge 
Jonas  Piatt ;  First  Judge  James  Thompson,  and 
Judges  Salmon  Child,  James  McCrea  and  John 
Prior.  Richard  M.  Livingston  represented  the 
people,  and  Zebulon  R.  Shipherd  of  Greenwich, 
Washington  county,  was  the  prisoner's  attorney. 
It  is  said  that  Bennett  gave  his  couns«il  the  follow- 
ing terse  directions;  Acquit  me,  or  hang  me  ;  I 
don't  want  to  go  to  prison."  The  jur}^  sworn  con- 
sisted of  JacoV)  Yaiiderheydt^i,  John  Allen,  Zadock 
Smith,  John  B.  Taylor,  Zalmon  Olmstead,  John 
Rosevelt,  Joseph  Potter,  Oliver  Cleveland,  David 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  65 

Sanford,  Onesimus  Hubbell,  Arthur  Caldwell  and 
Henry  Clow.     The  following  witnesses  were  sworn 
for  the  people,  viz:     Ira  Haskins,  Patty  Hunt, 
Joseph  Sanford,  Dr.  Henry  Reynolds,  Peter  Ostraii- 
der,  Eli  Baldwin,  Daniel  Loveless  and  Peter  Mal- 
lery.     No  evidence  was  given  on  Bennett's  behalt. 
From  the  testimony  it  appears  that  Bennett,  who 
was  a  roystering  farmer  addicted  to  drinking  and 
gambling,  lived  in  a  log  cabin  on  the  site  where 
James  Early's  house  now  stands,  had  been  down 
to  Jessup'  s  Landing,  and  on  returning  home,  intox- 
icated, met  Haskins,  a  quondam  friend,  coming  out 
of  his  house.     He  drew  up  a  loaded  whip,  and  say- 
ing that  he  would  not  allow  no  man  to  visit  his  wife 
in  his  absence,  struck  him  on  the  head.     Haskins 
/ell,  and  Bennett  picking  up  a  stone,  struck  him 
another  blow,  ^fracturing  his  skull,  from  the  effects 
of  which  he  died  eleven  days  afterward.     Under 
the  law  this  would  have  been  manslaughter,  but 
proof  of  Bennett' s  subsequent  declaration  showing 
malice  were  admitted  by  the  court,  and  he  was  con- 
victed and  sentenced  to  be  hanged  on  Friday,  Jul}^ 
21,  1820.     After  his  conviction  Bennett  developed 
traits  which  showed  him  to  have  been  insane,  among 
other  things  drawing  charcoal  sketches  of  the  Savior 
and  Satan  on  the  walls  of  his  cell,  saying  he  "wanted 
to  keep  good  friends  with  both,  for  he  did  not  know 
into  whose  hands  he  would  fall. ' '     He  would  spit  in 
the  faces  of  clergymen  calliiig  to  see  him,  and  utter 
the  vilest  abuse  to  his  friends  and  acquaintances 
who  visited  him.     He  also  refused  to  allow  Messrs. 
Azariah  W.  Odell  and  Lyman  B.  Langworthy  to 


66  THE  BETTCH   AND   BAR 

intercede  with  Gov.  De  Witt  Clinton,  who  was 
then  sojourning  at  Saratoga  Springs.  Notwith- 
standing all  this,  he  was  executed  in  public^on  the 
appointed  day,  on  the  ''hanging  ground,"  about  a 
mile  northeast  of  the  court  house  ;  and,  to  many 
elderly  citizens  of  the  county,  the  hanging  of  Ben- 
nett marks  an  era.  Gen.  Dunning  was  the  execu- 
tioner in  person,  not  shrinking  from  his  duty  as 
slieriff,  and  the  prisoner  was  prepared  for  the  scaf- 
fold by  deputy  sheriffs  Joseph  Jennings,  Philip 
H.  McOmber  and  Potter  Johnson.  His  remains, 
and  those  of  his  victim,  lie  interred  in  the  old 
cemetery  at  Jessup'  s  Landing.  Bennett  was  thirty - 
two  years  of  age,  and  Haskins  was  upwards  of 
hfty. 

At  the  same  Oyer,  Herman  Ostrander  was  tried 
for  forging  the  name  of  Gabriel  Leggett.  George 
W.  Kirkland  defended  him.  Thirty-four  witnesses 
were  sworn  for  the  people,  and  twenty-three  for  the 
prisoner,  who  was  acquitted.  Samuel  Downing, 
afterwards  widely  known  as  the  last  surviving  revo- 
lutionary pensioner,  was  the  foreman  of  the  jury. 
Leggett  was  then  indicted  for  perjury,  and  after  a 
delay  of  several  years,  the  charge  was  dismissed. 
The  third  and  fourth  Oyer  were  'held  by  Judges 
J-)hn  Woodwoith  and  Joseph  C.  Yates. 

By  the  constitution  of  1821,  a  change  was  made 
in  our  courts.  The  Su])reme  Court  was  restricted 
to  appellate  jurisdiction,  and  the  state  was  divided 
into  eiglit  circuits,  in  whicli  a  "Circuit  Judge"  was 
appointed,  to  possess  all  the  powers  to  preside  in 
the  courts  of  law  lield  foi-merly-  by  the  Supreme 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY,  67 

Court  judges,  and  who  were  also  to  be  vice  chan- 
cellors in  equity  in  their  respective  circuits.     Reu- 
ben H.  Walworth  of  Plattsburgh  was  appointed 
judge  of  the  fourth  circuit.     He  soon  removed  to 
Saiatoga  Springs  to  be  convenient  of  access  to  the 
members  of  the  bar  in   his  jurisdiction.     The  fifth 
term  was  accordingly  held  by  him  in  July,  1823, 
at  which  term  Samuel  Vinegar  was  convicted  for  an 
assault  with  intent  to  kill   Samuel   Sillituan,   and 
sent  to  states   prison  for  five  years.      Vinegars 
offence  was  raising  and  throwing  a  hea\\\    hammer 
at  Silliman.  •  Judge  Walworth   said   that  as  the 
prisoner  had  murder  in  his  intent,  the  court  would 
a])ply  the  extent  of  the  law.     He  signalized   his 
advent  to  the  bench  by  stern  sentences.     He  con- 
tinued to  hold  the  terms  in  this  county  (with  the 
exception  of  that  of  1824,  which  was  pi-esided  over 
by  Judge  Samuel  Nelson,   of  the  sixth  Circuit,) 
until  1828,  when,  on  April  22,  he  was  nominated 
,and  commissioned  chancellor  by  Gfoverner  Nathan- 
iel  Pitcher.     The   only   cases    of  importance,    as 
showing  the  stern  way  the  honest  old  judge  admin- 
istered the  criminal  law  in  cases  tried  before  him, 
are  those  of  John  Jackson,  1826,  petit  larceny  sec- 
ond offense,  three  years  at  Auburn ;  Charles  L. 
Peterson,  like  offense,  1827,  sent  to  "House  for  the 
reformation  of  juvenile  delinquents  in  the  city  of 
New  York"    until  twent3-one  years  of  age  ;  and 
Horace  Lane,  convicted  of  grand  larceny,  sent  to 
Auburn  for  three  years. 

The  May  term,  1828,  was  held  by  Judge  Nathan 
Williams  of  the  fifth  circuit,  at  which  Octavio 


68  THE   BENCH  AND   BAR 

Nolande,  (convicted  of  burglary,  was  sentenced  to 
states  prison  for  life.  The  November  term  of  the 
same  year  was  held  by  Judge  Esek  Cowen  of  Sara- 
toga Springs,  who  had  been  commissioned  Circuit 
Judge,  April  22,  1828,  cice  Walworth  appointed 
chancellor.  Judge  Cowen  continued  to  hold  all 
the  terms  in  this  county  until  1836,  when  he  was 
appointed  judge  of  the  Supreme  court  by  Governor 
Marcy,  with  the  exception  of  the  May  term,  1830, 
w^hich  was  held  by  Judge  James  Vanderpoel  of 
the  third  Circuit.  At  that  term  Isaac  and  Jane 
Craig,  convicted  of  aiding  a  prisoner,  George  D. 
Miller,  to  escape  from  jail,  was  sentenced  to  three 
years'  imprisonment  in  Auburn. 

Samuel  Ostrander,  who  had  been  indicted  for 
exhuming  and  carrying  away  for  purposes  of  dis- 
section from  the  Clifton  Park  cemetery,  November 
10,  1 828,  the  bod}^  of  Patrick  Folie,  deceased,  was 
brought  to  trial  at  this  term.  He  was  defended  by 
Oran  G.  Otis  and  Joshua  Bloore,  both  then  in  the 
zenith  of  their  legal  fame.  Mr.  Otis  was  a  man  of 
remarkable  genius,  and  our  older  counselors  unite 
in  saying^that  he  was  the  most  eloquent  advocate 
at  the  bar  our  count}-  has  produced.  Mr.  Bloore, 
too,  was  an  attorney  of  great  talent.  Both  passed 
away  in  the  full  i)rime  of  life  and  usefulness.  Not- 
withstanding the  skill  of  Mr.  Bloore  in  examining 
the  witnesses,  and  the  eloquence  of  the  silver- 
tongued  Otis,  district  attorney  ^Varren  succeeded 
in  convicting  Ostrander  of  the  disgusting  crime,  and 
he  was  sentenced  to  sixty  days'  in])ris(mnient  in 
the  oounty  jail 


OF   SARATOGA    COUNTY.  61* 

At  the  November  Oyer,  1831,  another  murder 
trial  was  had,  being  the  only  occasion  since  the 
erection  of  the  county  that  an  instance  of  wife  mur 
der  has  occurred  within  its  limits.  James  Mason 
liad  been  indicted  for  killing  his  wife  Catliarine,  in 
the  town  of  Clifton  Park.  It  occurred  during  a 
drunken  brawl,  in  which  he  struck  his  wife  with  a 
club,  from  the  effects  of  which,  it  was  testified,  she 
died.  Circuit  Judge  Ojwen  presided,  assisted  by 
Judges  Thompson  and  Palmer  of  the  Court  of  Ses- 
sions. District  attorney  Warren  was  the  public 
prosecutor,  and  Oran  G.  Otis  prepared  the  prison- 
er's defense.  The  jury  was  composed  of  Isaac 
Hubbs,  William  Baker,  William  DeRemer,  Otis 
Bentley,  Henry  Rosekrans,  Garrett  Van  Vranken, 
Judd  Hoyt,  John  S.  Andrews,  John  Kelly,  Pierson 
Crane,  Barton  Gridley  and  John  ,],  Sherwood. 
Mason  was  found  guilty  of  wilful  murder  and 
received  a  sentence  to  be  hanged  on  the  last 
Friday  in  March,  1832,  and  it  was  ordered  by  the 
court  that  his  body  should  be  given  to  Dr.  Samuel 
Freeman  for  dissection.  Mr.  Otis,  however,  was 
indefatigable  in  his  efforts  to  save  his  client,  and 
finally  succeeded  in  inducing  Gov,  Enos  T.  Throop 
to  commute  his  sentence  to  imprisonment  for  life. 
The  crime  hardly  arose  above  manslaughter,  and 
that  was  doubtless  a  wise  conclusion  of  his  case. 

At  the  May  Oyer,  1832.  before  Judge  Cowen, 
another  case  involving  the  taking  of  human  life 
was  brought  to  trial.  Patrick  Sheridan  was  con- 
victed of  manslaughter  in  killing  James  Judge  at 
the  town  of  Saratoga  Springs,  March  26,  of  that 


70  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

year.  The  scene  of  the  affray  was  on  the  railroad 
near  Wakeman's  crossing,  between  Ballston  Spa 
find  Saratoga  Springs,  on  which  they  were  laborers 
in  the  construction  of  the  road.  Sheridan  was  sen- 
tpnced  to  be  imprisoned  at  Mount  Pleasant  (Sins: 
Sing)  states  prison  for  seven  years.  William  Hay 
and  Judiah  Ellsworth  were  his  counsel. 

Again  the  shadows  of  a  judicial  taking  of  a  hu- 
man life  descended  upon  the  county.     John  Wat- 
kins  was  tried  at  the  November  Oyer  18B3,  for  the 
wilful  murder  of  Aaron  Case  at  the  village  of  Balls- 
ton  Spa  on  the  ninth  day  of  November  1833,  by 
stabbing  him  with  a  knife  in  the  throat  and  sever- 
ing the  jugular  vein.     Case  had  formerly  been  a 
hotel   keeper   in   Mechanicville,    and    during  the 
nbsence  on  "a  visit  of  the  proprietor  of  the  Eagle 
liMel  in  Ballston  Spa,  the  late  James  LaDow,  he 
was  in  temporarj^  charge.     Watkins  was  a  disre- 
putable mulatto  barber  of  the  village.     On  the  fatal 
day,  Case  discovered  Watkins  in  the  baggage  room 
of  the  hotel  and  endeavored  to  capture  him.     Tlie 
latter  seizing  a  knife  from  behind  the  bar  ran  out  in 
the  street   followed  by  Mr.   Case.     Reaching  the 
middle  of  the  street  he  halted  and  plunged  the  knife 
into  the  throat  of  Case,  and  then  tied.     Case  walked 
back  into  tlie  liotH,  sat  down  in  a  chair  and  fell 
lead  upon  tli«^  lloor.     The  iiiLuder  was  witnessed 
)y  Mr.  Samuel  B.  Garrett,  a  farmer,  who  had  just 
ome  upon  the  street  from  tlu,^  hotel  shed.     As  soon 
IS  the  murdei-er  lied,  he  gave  chase,  sounding  the 
nlarm.     Watkins  was  seized  in  front  of  where  the 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  71 

First  National  bank  now  stands  by  Samuel  S.  Wake- 
man,  Stephen  Fox,  Abraham  T.  Davis  and  Moses 
Williams,  and  by  the  aid  of  Mr.   Garrett  he  was 
securely  tied  and  delivered  to  jailoi-  Dunning.     The 
court  which  tried  Watkins  was  composed  of  Circuit 
judge  Cowen  with  First  judge  Samuel  Young  and 
judges  Steele,  Granger,  VanSchoonhovenandPal- 
mei.     He  was  defended  by  Oran    G.   Otis.      The 
jury  consisted  of  Samuel  S.  Southard,  Joseph  Wil- 
cox, Robert  Kelly,  Edward  Rexfcjrd,  Henry  Kil- 
mer, Benjamin  R.   Putnam,   Judd  Hoyt,   Arnold 
Paul,  John  Jones,  Michael  Vincent,  John  B.  Ross 
and  Eli  Dunning.     The  witnesses  sworn  for  the 
people  were   Samuel  R.  Garrett,    Alonzo  Gould, 
Ellen  Bevin,  Sarah  Jane  Ladow,  Joseph  W.Loomis, 
George  W.  Beach,  Dr.  E.  St  John,  S.  S.  Wake- 
man,  Abraham  T.  Davis  and  Moses  Williams.     The 
culprit  having  no  witnesses  to  prove  mitigating  cir- 
cumstances, counselor  Otis  had  only  to  depend  on 
cross  examination  to  furnish  his  defens^e.     District 
Attorney  Warren  secured  another  conviction,  and 
Watkins  was  sentenced  to  be  hanged  on  Friday, 
January  17,1834.    He  now  began  a  series  of  dissimu- 
lations and  gained  somewhat  the  popular  sympathy 
by  professing  great  religious  zeal  and  repentance 
for^his  past.misdeeds.     Mr.  Otis'  efforts  to  secure  a 
commutation  "of  his  sentence  would    have  been 
effectual,  doubtless,  had  not  Watkins  by  another 
base>nd7murderous  act  sealed  his  fate.     During 
the  month  of  December,  jailor  Dunning  went  into 
his'cell  to  read  a  chapter  in  the  Bible  to  him,  and 
while  the  good  old  man  was  reading  the  sacred  text, 
the  oafepfrit  afcwck  him  with  a  bille*  of  wood,  seized 


72  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR. 

his  keys  aud  escaped.     He  concealed  himself  for 
some  days  in  S.  S.  Seaman's  barn  in  Ballston,  and 
went  from  there  in  the  night  to  a  barn  in  Malta,  on 
on  the  Merrill  fann.     While  in  Seaman's  barn  his 
feet  were  badly  frozen.     His  hiding  place  was  at 
last  divnlged  by  a  colored  man  and  he  was  taken 
back  to  Ills  doom.     On  the  ap])()inted  day,  he  was 
taken  to  the  spot  where   Bennett   thirteen   years 
before  liad  expiated  his  crime,  and  on  the  same 
gallows  he  was  ''hanged  by  the  neck  until  he  was 
dead"  by  sheriff  John  Vernam.     He,  too,  waspre- 
l)ared  for  the  fatal  fain)y  nnder  sheriff  Joseph  Jen- 
nings, who  yt?t  retains  the  noose  used  on  the  occasion. 
Ex- Judge  Hulbert,  then  an  apprentice  boy  of  the 
Ballston  Spa  Gazette,  tells  me  that  he  remembers 
the  printing  at  that  office  of  an  alleged  confession 
of  Watkins,  along  with  his  tria^  and  execution,  in 
which  he  stated  that  he  had  formerly  "been  a  pirate 
and  had  committed  the  crime  of  murder  on  several 
former  occasions.     The  "confession"  was  printed 
in  a  sensational  ''Police  Gazetted'  style  and  was  said 
to  have  been  written  by  the  late  Elias  G.  Palmer. 
It  is  also  said,  however,  that  when  Watkins  made 
tlie  confession  lie  hoped  that  it  would  secure  his 
reprieve  and  a  commutation  of  his  sentence.     On 
the  gallows  he  declared  it  was  false.     Since  then 
the  old  scaffold  has  rotted  in  its  storage  place,  and 
may  it  be  hoped  many  years  may  elapse  ere  the 
sheriff  of  Saratoga  (X)unty  shall  again  be  called 
u])on  to  erect  another. 
The  Novembei-  Oyer,  1836,  was  held  by  Judge 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY,  73 

Jolui  Willard  of  Saratoga  Springs,  who  had  been 
apjjointed  by  Gov.  Marcy,  September  8,  to  the  pkice 
vacated  by  the  appohitment  of  Judge  Covven  to  the 
Supreme  bench.     He   had  previously   been    first 
judge  of  Washington  county.     On  the  fourth  day 
of  the  term  county  clerk  Goodrich  made  the  fol- 
lowing entry  :     '  'Court  tried  to  convene  and  could 
not ;  Hon.  John  AVillard  only  being  present.     Ad- 
journed sine  die.''     This  entry  is  explained  as  fol- 
lows :     The  judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Fleas 
insisted  that  being  a  numerical  majorit}^  they  could 
control  the  action  of  the  court  in  bringing  in  the 
criminal   calendar.      Both  Circuit  Judges  Cowen 
and  AVillard  resisted  this  claim,  as  trenching  on 
their  prerogatives.     At  a  previous  term,  a  coUisicju 
of   authority  had  arisen  between  Judges   Cowen 
and  Young,  in  which  the  latter  was  at  first  success- 
ful  in   ordering   the   district  attorney  to  call  the 
(U-iminal  calendar,  and  the  former  gained  his  point 
by  forbidding  the  clerk  to  obey  Young's  orders. 
These  differences  grew  out  of  a  dual  jurisdiction  of 
the  two  courts,  which  created  more  or  less  trouble 
throughout  the  state,  until  both  courts  were  abro- 
gated by   the   constitution  of  1846.     The  district 
attorney  was  an  appointee  of  the  Court  of  Sessions, 
while  the  county  clerk  was  clerk  of  the  Circuit 
court  and  bound  to  obey  its  commands.     At  the 
December  Oyer,  1840,  Jonathan  A.  Brown  of  Half- 
moon  was  convicted  of  illegal  voting  in  Waterford, 
Nov.  5,  1839.     Chesselden  Ellis  was  district  attor- 
ney, and  the  prisoner  was  defended  by  Joshua 
Bloore. 

4 


74  THE  BEXCH   AND   1?AK 

At  the  May  Oyer,  1841,  an  indictment  was  found 
for  one  of  the  most  audacious  conspiracies  to  d"fra.nd 
that  has  ever  disgraced  the  annals  of  any  criminal 
court.     Samuel  S.  Welden,  Amaziali  Ford  and  Ben- 
janiin  Howd  were  charged  with  conspiring  to  de- 
fi-aud  William  Green  of  Ballston  Spa.    They  were 
brought  to  ti'ial  at  the  May  Oyer,   1843.     Edward 
P.  Bullard,  special  district  attorney  to  try  cases  in 
whicli  Disti'ict  Attorney  Beach  had  been   t;ngaged 
foi'  the  defense  previous  to  his  ap])ointment,  ap- 
]>eared   for   the   ])eople  ;    ^Vi]lialn    A.    Beach  for 
defendants  Welden  and  Ford,  and  Jolm  K.  Porter 
for  Howd.     I  find  the  proven  facts  from  the  record 
of  conviction  to  have  been  that  tlie  prisoners  illegally 
conspired  Pebruar}^  20,  1 842,  to  falsely,  move  and 
maintain  suits  bef  )re  Samuel  Wilbur,  a  Justice  of 
the  peace  of  the  town  of  Clifton  Park,  and,  also, 
before  James  Van  Hyning,  a  Justice  of  the  peace  of 
the  town  of  Malta,   against   William  P.   Green  in 
which  Ford  appeared  as  plaintiff,  and.  also,  othei"s 
in   which    Welden   was   the   plaintiff.     That  they 
])rocured  the  issuance  of  a  summons  against  th(^ 
said  Green  from  the  said  Justices  and   delivered 
thnm  to  Howd,  a  constable  of  Clifton  Park,  forvSer- 
vice.     That   he   dul}'   returned   them    ''])ersonally 
served,"    when    in    fax't  th(\v   had   been  served  on 
another  i)ei-son  procui'ed  to  personate  Green.     That 
on  the  return  days  of  said  summons  a})])eajance 
was  made  by  Ford  and  Welden  [as  plaintiffs,    and 
Judgments  were  taken  against  Green,  as  in  del'tiult. 
Tile  proof  was  so  direct  against  Foid  and    Welden 
that  they  Avere  convicted  and  seiiteuced  to   three 


OF   SAKAI'oC.A    COINTY.  7^ 

month's' iiipi'isomnent  in  the  county  Jail,  and  to 
pay  a  tin*'  of  $250.  Howd  escaped,  tliere  being  a 
doubt  whether  he  was  a  co-conspirator,  or  a  dup^ 
of  tlie  other  ]iarties. 

At  the  Ma}^  Oyer  lvS44,  Abraham  Speck  was  con- 
victed of  an  assault  with  a  gun  on  Reuben  E,  Sea- 
man, collector  of  district  No.  7,  Saratoga  Springs, 
with  intent  to  kill  because  Seaman  had  made  a  levy 
on  liis  i)roperty  to  pay  a  school  tax.  District  Attor- 
]R\V  Beach  prosecuted,  and  JohnK.  Porter  defend- 
ed the  prisoner.  This  case  was  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  brilliant  legal  strife  of  those  eminent 
advocates  at  our  bar,  in  which  they  laid  the  foun- 
dations of  their  future  fame.  Speck,  who  was  the 
well  known  deformed  colored  man,  was  sentenced 
to  Um  years  imprisonment.  After  serving  about 
half  of  his  time  he  was  pardoned  by  Gov.  Seward 
through  the  intlueuce  of  the  late  Gen.  James  M. 
Cook,  and  lived  to  be  thefirst  of  his  race  to  vote  at 
the  polls  held  in  the  village  of  Ballston  Spa,  after 
the  adoption  of  the  fifteenth  amendment,  at  tlie 
special  judicial  election  held  in  1870  to  elect  judges 
of  the  Court  of  Appeals. 

Another  murder  trial  darkens  the  minutes  of  the 
Oyer  and  Termim^r.  At  the  May  terni  1846,  Abra- 
ham Wilcox  was  brought  to  the  bar  charged  with 
the  murder  of  Thomas  McKiustry,  at  the  town  of 
Saratoga  December  2,  1845.  Wilcox  was  a  young- 
man  of  a  weak  mind,  induced  by  an  unfortnnate 
habit,  and  becoming  enraged  at  the  preference  shown 
for  McKinstr}-  b}^  a  certain  young  lady  that  botli 
admired,  he  stabbed  him  sevei'al  times  so  that  he 


76  IHE   BENCH   AND   EAli 

instantly  died.     He  then  ran  and  was  foulid  soon 
aftcM-  hanging  in  his  barn.     While  the  persons  who 
found  liim,    thinking  him  dead,   were  discussing 
whether  to  cut  him  down  or  await  the  arrival  of  a 
coroner,  Dr.    Oliver  Brisbin  arrived.     As  he  was 
saying  that  it  was  usual  to  await  the  arrival  of  that 
officer,  Owen  M.  Roberts  ot  Moreau,  drove  up  and 
at  once  seveied  the  strap,  and  Wilcox  was  found  to 
be  yet  alive.     He  was  brought  to  the  jail  in  Balls 
ton  Spa.     Henry  W.  Merrill  was  engaged  to  defend 
him,  and,  after  his  indictment  John  K.  Porter  and 
Augustus  Bockes  were  associated  in  the  defense. 
Against  this  strong  array.  District  Attorney  Beach 
brought  Wilcox  to  trial.     The  court  was  composed 
of  Circuit   Judge  Willard,   and   judges   Warren, 
Stone,   Mandeville   and   Gilchrist.     The  jury   hn- 
paneled   to  try  the  indictment  was  William   De 
Remer,  Julius  H.   Ri(;e,  James  H.  Darrow,  Gard- 
ner Edmunds,   Nathaniel   Seelye,   Eliphalet  Mer- 
chant, Wm.  11.   Alexandei-,   Albert   Clute,  Henrj^ 
Mead,  2d,   Nelson   Cole,    Gorham   Dennison   and 
Daniel  Eddy.     The  trial  was  closely  contested  and 
lasted  three  days.     'J'he  defense  was  insanity.     In 
those  days  that  was  a  new  feature,  and  AVilcox 
was  convicted  and  re<;eived  the  death  sentence  to  be 
executed  July  28,  1846.     His  counsel  laid  the  case 
before  Chancellor   Walworth,  who  adjudged  that 
Wilcox   was  of  an  unsound  mind.     On  his  repre 
sentations  Gov.  Wright  commuted  the  sentence  to 
imprisonment  f()r  life,  and  Wilcox  dii^l  in   Danne- 
mora. 

J  udge  WilhiJ-d  had  heUl  every  term  in  this  county 


OF   SARATOGA   COTJNTY.  77 

from  the  date  of  his  appointment ;  but  the  time 
now  arrived  when  the  provisions  of  tlie  new  con- 
stitution bid  him  lay  aside  his  old  robes  of  office 
and  accept  the  ermine  fresh  from  the  people  by  an 
election  to  the  new  office  of  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
court.  The  last  Oyer  and  Terminer  held  in  this 
count}'  under  the  constitution  of  1821  convened  at 
the  court  house  in  May.  1847.  Judges  Willard, 
Warren,  Stone  and  Gilchrist  sat  upon  the  bench  ; 
James  W.  Horton  was  clerk  ;  Thomas  Low,  sheriff 
and  Hiram  Boss,  crier.  None  of  these  "survive 
except  the  veteran  clerk,  who  is  now  in  the  thirty- 
first  vear  of  his  service. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

INDICTMENTS   TRIED   IN   THE   COURT   OF  GENERAL 
SESSIONS,  FROM  1811)  TO  1847. 

The  Court  of  General  Sessions  of  the  Peace  is  one 
of  the  most  ancient  known  to  our  constitution  and 
the  laws.  It  was  first  instituted  in  the  colony  of 
New  York  under  the  administration  of  Governor 
Thomas  Dongan,  by  an  act  of  the  colonial  assembly 
in  1683,  but  was  abolished  by  order  of  Sir  Edmond 
Andross,  who  superseded  Col.  Dongan,  under 
whose  administration  King  James  II  sought  to 
unite  the  New  England  colonies  with  New  York 
and  the  settlements  in  East  and  West  Jersey.  The 
(experiment  failed,  for  James  was  forced  to  leave 
England  by  tlie  revolution  of  the  same  year,  which 
placed  William  of  Orange  and  Mary  Stuart  on  the 
throne.  The  colonists  soon  made  it  too  warm  for 
his  tyranical  tool,  xVndross,  to  remain  and  ht^  left 
the  New  World  forever.  In  1699,  under  tlie  admin- 
istration of  the  colonial  governoi'  Richard  Coote, 
Earl  of  Bellamont,  the  assembly  again  established 
tlie  Court  of  Sessions.  It  received  the  royal  sanc- 
tion in  the  first  year  of  the  reign  of  Queen  Ann, 
1702,  Edward  Hyde,  lord  viscount  Cornbury,  being 
the  colonial  governor.  It  was  the  same  Lord  Corn- 
bury  who  two  years  later  issued  the  royal  patent  of 
the    Kayaderosseras  to   Nanning  Haimanse  and 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  79 

twelve  others,  whicli  forms  the  basis  of  the  title  of 
two-thirds  of  the  land  in  this  county,  and  which 
patent  with  its  large  waxen  seal  and  quaint  phrase- 
ology and  chirography  is  now  on  tile  in  our  ;ounty 
clerk's  oflace.  Thus  the  decrees  establishing  local 
courts  and  the  title  to  a  large  portion  of  the  lands 
in  this  county  are  co-existent  and  bear  the  same 
seal  and  signature. 

We  have  hitherto  seen  that  the  legislature  of 
1814  provided  that  thereafter  the  Court  of  Sessions 
in  the  several  counties  should  be  holden  by  the 
Judges  of  Common  Pleas.  This  provision  was  con- 
tinued by  the  constitution  of  1821,  and  it  remained 
in  their  Jurisdiction  until  the  constitution  of  1846 
abolishing  both  courts,  and  reorganized  the  county 
courts  on  their  present  basis.  Therefore,  in  pursu- 
ance of  law  and  by  the  appointment  of  the  Judges 
of  Common  Pleas,  the  first  term  of  the  Court  of 
General  Sessions  held  in  the  present  court  house, 
convened  August  24,  1819.  judge  James  Thomp- 
son pi-esided,  with  Judges  Salmon  Child,  Abraham 
Moe,  James  McCr^a  and  John  Prior  on  the  bench. 
The  other  court  officers  were  those  named  .in  the 
last  chapter  at  being  present  at  the  first  Oyer  and 
Terminer.  During  the  ten  years  succeeding  from 
1819,  this  court  was  occupied  in  disposing  of  petty 
criminals,  and  no  important  trials  were  held  at  its 
bar.  During  that  period,  Samuel  Cook  of  Milton, 
James  Van  Schoonhoven  of  Waterford,  Doctor 
John  H.  Steel  of  Saratoga  Springs,  Nicholas  B. 
Doe  of  Waterford  and  George  Palmer  of  Still- 
water were  successively  commissioned  as  judges 


80  THE   BEl^CH   AND   BAT? 

to  fill  vacancies.  On  tlie  thirteenth  of  Fehruary, 
1821,  a  change  in  the  political  whirligig  compelled 
District  Attorne}'  Livingston  to  retire  from  office, 
and  William  L.  F.  Warren  was  appointed  to  svk^- 
ceed  him.  He  made  a  fearless  and  worthy  ])nblic 
prosecntor,  and  won  the  respect  of  all  while  he 
performed  its  duties. 

During  this  period  the  first  jury  of  this  county 
which  were  fed  in  their  room  by  order  of  the  court 
was  that  impanneled  to  try  an  indictment  found 
against  one  Tennis  McGinnis,  for  perjury  alleged 
to  have  been  committed  in  an  action  tried  Ix'fore 
Judge  Granger.  Whether  it  was  owing  to  the 
want  of  evidence,  the  eloquence  of  counsellor  Otis 
in  his  behalf,  or  the  mollifying  effects  of  the  "scpiare 
meaF'  provided  by  the  court  or  not  cannot  be 
stated,  but  the  jury  acquitted  Mr.  McGinness. 

At  the  April  term  1880,  John  Smith,  the  individ- 
ual, who,  next  to  John  Doe,  is  the  most  numerous 
culprit  in  country,  was  heard  by  P.  H.  McOmber, 
his  attorney,  on  an  appeal  from  an  order  entered 
in  justices  court,  requiring  him  to  keep  the  peace 
towards  the  people  of  the  state  of  New  York,  and 
particularly  towards  Henry  Wilsey.  The  court 
minutes  do  not  disclose  the  gravamen  of  the  offeiise 
charged  against  the  doughty  John,  but  the  fact  that 
the  order  was  confirmed  leads  us  to  doubt  not  that 
he  made  some  "threats  full  of  imports  dire,  and 
actions  herce  and  sanguinary.'" 

At  this  term  was  tried  :ui  indictment  which 
created  great  interest  from  the  high  social  stand- 
ing   of    file    part}-    accused.     Georg-e    Brown,    a 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  81 

student  at  Union  college,  and  a  sou  of  the 
famous  lawyer,  David  Paul  Brown,  of  Philadel- 
plia,  was  indicted  for  having  disturbed  a  camp- 
nieetiug,  held  in  Merrill' s  grove,  in  Malta,  in  the 
previous  suniuier.  Young  Brown  was  defended  by 
his  father,  Horatio  Buel,  of  Glen's  Falls,  andOran 
G.  Otis,  of  Ballston  Spa.  An  alibi  strong  enough 
to  convince  the  elder  Weller  was  proved.  It  was 
shown  conclusively  that  George  Brown  was  at  his 
quarters  in  Union  college,  at  the  hour  he  was  alleged 
to  liave  been  in  Malta.  Witnesses  who  had  sworn 
positively  to  his  identity  were  confused  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  his  brother,  Peter  A.  Brown,  who,  it 
afterwards  appeared,  was  the  real  culprit.  The 
jury  retired  under  the  charge  of  constable  Rowland 
A.  Wright,  but  after  careful  deliberation  were  dis- 
charged as  being  unable  to  tell  whether  George  was 
Peter,  or  Peter  was  George.  District  Attorney 
Warren  thereupon  entered  a  nolle  'prosequi  by  per- 
mission of  the  court. 

At  the  August  term  of  the  same  year  John  Tip- 
pet was  convicted  on  two  indictments  for  horse 
stealing  and  jail  breaking,  and  sentenced  to  Sing- 
Sing  for  live  years.  This  was  the  second  case  of 
"special  jail  delivery"  from  the. present  court 
house.  It  was  not  as  successful  as  the  first,  which 
occurred  in  1821,  when  Richard  Worden  and  Eli- 
phalet  Williams,  alias  Erastus  Whitney,  alias 
Charles  Whitney,  alias  Charles  Cleveland,  coun- 
terfeiters, bade  Gen.  Dunning  a  surreptitious  fare- 
well and  left  not  even  their  regrets  behind.     Solita- 


82  THE   BENCH   AND   BAR 

ry  cells  were  then  ordered  for  refractory  prisoners, 
on  the  principle  of  putting  np  the  bars  after  tlin 
cattle  have  wandered  from  the  field.  They  wei«^ 
constructed  in  the  basement  of  tlie  jail  under  the 
common  ceUs,  and  were  long  known  as  the  "dun- 
geons."    They  have  not  been  used  in  many  years. 

At  the  June  term,  1831,  Margaret  Fulmer  was  con- 
victed for  keeping  a  disorderly  house  in  the  village 
of  Ballston  Spa,  and  sentenced  to  sixty  days  in  jail, 
and  to  pay  a  fine  of  $20.  To  the  credit  of  the  coun- 
ty seat,  every  effort  on  the  part  of  parties  of  de- 
praved habits  to  maintain  similar  institutions  there 
has  been  ground  under  the  iron  heel  of  the  law. 

Under  the  provisions  of  the  constitution  of  1821, 
the  first  judge  held  his  office  by  appointment,  for 
the  term  of  five  years,  and  on  the  expiration  of 
Judge  James  Thompson's  term,  April  30,  1833. 
Governor  Marcy  appointed  Hon.  Samuel  Young  to 
the  seat  of  the  presiding  judge  of  this  county.  Col. 
Young  was  one  of  the  ripest  scholars  of  the  state. 
and  was  a  lawyer  of  great  acumen  and  deep  read- 
ing. He  had  been  a  member  of  the  state  senate  for 
several  years,  where  his  voice,  both  in  the  senate 
and  the  court  of  eri;ors,  had  had  great  weight,  and 
his  reported  opinions  in  the  latter  had  become  a 
part  of  established  precedents  of  our  courts,  and 
are  quoted  not  only  in  the  courts  of  every  state  and 
United  States,  but  also  in  the  mother  country.  The 
first  case  of  importance,  brought  before  Judge 
Young,  will  be  remembered  by  many  of  our  older 
citizens.  The  late  David  F.  White  having  been 
made  the  victim  of  the  petty  spite  of  Harvey  Loomis, 


OF   SAKATOOA   COUISTTY.  8'? 

then  landlord  of  the  Sans  Soiici,  cut  a  fi;];een  withe 
and  severely  thrashed  the  latter  in  front  of  liis  liotel, 
on  the  public  street  in  broad  dayliglit.  Looniis 
procured  his  indictment  for  an  assault  and  battery, 
at  the  August  term,  1834,  Wit  e  plead  guilty  on 
being  arraigned,  but  both  Judge  Young  and  Dis- 
trict Attorney  Warren  (who  was  a  brother-in-law  of 
White)  refused  to  accept  it.  He  was  finally  tried 
in  August,  1885,  and  washned  thirt}^  dollars,  which 
doubtless  acted  as  an  emollient  on  the  injuredfeel- 
ings  and  limbs  of  Loomis. 

At  the  August  terra,  1836,  one  Thomas  McUinniss 
was  convicted  of  selling,  contrary  to  statute,  "one 
glass,  if  no  more,  of  liquor,"  and  lined  $25.  Sep- 
tember 6,  1836,  the  judges  of  Common  Pleas  ap- 
pointed Nicholas  Hill  }r.  of  Saratoga  Springs  to  be 
district  attorney.  Mr.  Hill  was  then  at  the  head  of 
the  bar  of  this  county,  and  was  enjoying  a  lucrative 
practice.  He,  liowever,  very  soon  found  that  the 
duties  of  his  office  interfered  with  his  clientage  in 
an  irreconcilable  manner,  and  on  the  25th  of  the 
next  April  he  resigned,  and  Chesselden  Ellis  of 
Waterford  was  appointed  by  the  court  to  the  vacant 
position.. 

Tn  1835  indictments  were  tbnnd  against  Reuben 
S.  Clark,  his  son  John  S.  Clark,  Leaiider  Lawrejice 
and  others  of  the  "Snake  Hill  bank,"  for  uttering 
counterfeit  money.  These  cases  occupied  the  atten- 
tion of  both  the  Oyer  and  Sessions  for  several  years, 
but  for  "deeds  that  were  dark"  John  S.  Clark  was 
"peculiar,"  and  evaded  conviction  on  every  indict- 
ment found  against  liinu     Several  of  his  victims 


84  THE  BENCH  AND   BAK. 

suffered  terms  of  imprisonment,  and  his  father-in- 
law,  Ezeldel  Lawrence,  a  worthy  Stillwater  farmer, 
was  nearly  ruined  financially  in  paying  the  forfeited 
bonds  of  Reuben  S.  Clark  and  Leander  Lawrence. 
Nicholas  Hill  jr.  was  Clark's  attorney. 

On  the  expiration  of  Judge  Young's  term  in 
1838,  Gov.  Marcy  appointed  Thomas  J.  Marvin  of 
Saratoga  Springs  to  be  first  judge  ;  and  Greorge  G. 
Scott  of  Milton  and  John  Gilchrist  of  Charlton  wei'e 
apy)ointed  judges.  Judge  Marvin  had  been  ap- 
pointed one  of  the  judges  of  Common  Pleas  two 
3'ears  previously.  He  served  with  good  acceptance 
until  the  office  was  abolished  in  1847. 

At  the  August  term,  183^,  John  L.  Carpenter  was 
convicted  and  fined  $20  for  selling  lottery  tickets  ; 
since  which  time  the  law  has  been  a  dead  letter  in 
this  county,  as  far  as  convictions  for  the  crime 
sho\\.  At  the  same  term  Henry  Storm,  alias 
Henrv'  Scott  alias  Henry  Stone,  was  brought  to 
trial  for  burglary  and  larceny.  Having  the  letters 
"■H.  S."  in  India  ink  on  his  hand  it  was  impossible 
for  him  to  travel  beyond  that  latitude  in  seeking  a 
name,  so  he  listened  to  the  adviceof  counselor  Abel 
Meeker  and  went  to  Auburn  for  five  years  on  a  plea 
of  guilty  of  grand  larceny.  Also  at  the  same  term, 
Reuben  Priest  Was  convicted  of  procuring  the  sig- 
nature of  Justice  Benjamin  K.  Bryan  of  Mechanic- 
ville  to  a  written  instrument  under  false  pretences, 
and  was  fined  $]()().   • 

At  the  April  term,  1841,  Oscar  Brazee,  Parker 
Thomas,  Patrick  Hart,  Lemuel  Rose  and  George 
Tayloi-,  were  indicted  and  tried  for  an  attempt  to 


OF   SAEATOGA   COUNTY.  85 

break  jail  February  1,  1840,  by  sawing  tlie  window 
bars  and  removing  stone  from  the  base  of  a  window. 
Tliey  were  detected  an  I  remanded  to  tlie  custody 
of  jailor  Stebbins.  Thomas,  who  was  also  held  as 
a  counterfeiter,  was  sent  to  the  states  prison  for 
three  years,  and  Ross  was  also  convicted  and  sen  - 
tenced  to  the  county  jail  for  six  months. 

At  the  August  term,  1843,  Sabine  Harris  was 
tried  and  convicted  of  the  crime  of  buigiary  and 
larceny,  in  breaking  into  and  robbing  the  store  of 
Fellows  &  Viall,  in  Mechanic ville,  February  12, 
of  that  year.  Notwithstanding  he  had  the  efforts 
of  William  A.  Beach  in  his  behalf,  the  proof  was 
so  direct  that  he  was  convicted  and  sentenced  to 
four  years  at  Auburn, 

William  A.  Beach  having  been  appointed  dis- 
trict attorney,  September  11,  1843  ;  at  the  December 
term  Edward  F.  Bullard  was  appointed  special  dis- 
trict attorney  to  try  cases  in  which  Mr.  Beach  had 
been  engaged  by  the  defense.  Amos  j\lsdorf,  a 
constable  of  Clifton  Park,  was  lined  $50  at  this  term 
for  having  corruptly  allowed  one  John  Philbrick, 
a  prisoner  committed  to  his  custody  by  justice  B. 
K.  Bryan,  to  escape.  At  the  April  term,  1844,  an 
order  from  Governor  Bouck  was  entered  on  the 
minutes  of  the  court,  directing  that  thereafter  all 
male  prisoners  from  this  county  should  be  sent  to 
the  new  states  prison,  now  known  as  Dannemora. 

The  famous  Empire  Club  of  the  city  of  New  York, 
under  the  lead  of  Capt.  Isaiah  Rjmders,  a  native  of 
Waterford,  will  long  be  remembered  by  students  of 
4* 


86  THE  BENCH   AND    BAR 

political  history.     It  was  formed  about  the  year 

1844,  and  did  elRcient  service  in  the  Cla}'  and  Polk 
presidential  campaign  of  that  year.  It  worked  in 
the  interest  of  the  democratic  party  and  was  most 
heartily  feared  and  execrated  by  the  whig  leaders 
on  account  of  its  Donnybrook  tendencies.  Gen. 
Bullard  has  kindly  furnished  the  author  with  the 
following  particulars  of  an  occurrence  in  this 
county,  in  which  the  stalwart  Rynders  and  his 
shoulder  hitters  played  an  important  part,  and 
which  but  for  the  shrewdness  of  his  attorneys 
would  have  changed  his  field  of  operations  to  a 
more  northern  latitude  for  several  years.  Ryn- 
ders' parents,  brother  and  sister  resided  in  Water- 
ford,  where  he  was  in  the  habit  of  visiting  them 
occasionally.  Frequently  while  there  he  would 
get  into  heated  political  discussions  with  a  local 
Whig  champion  named  Russell  Losee.  They 
finally  became  bitter  personal  enemies.     In  April, 

1845,  Rynders  came  tn  Waterford  in  company  with 
two  prize  fighters  named  Phillips  and  McCloskey, 
and  they  were  present  at  the  regular  town  meeting. 
Towards  night  a  fight  occurred  in  the  street  near  the 
polls.  John  Akinson,  (wlio  was  killed  recently  by 
the  cars)  a  large  and  powerful  Irishman  and  the  only 
whig  Celt  in  tlie  place,  stepped  across  the  street  to 
a  shop  and  seizing  a  blacksmith's  sledge  came  into 
the  crowd  and  knocked  down  James  Rynders 
(Isaiah's  bi-other)  and  the  two  prize  fighters. 
Before  he  reached  Capt.  Rjniders  the  latter  drew  a 
pistol  and  fired  into  the  crowd.     During  the  stam- 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  87 

pede  this  occasioned  tlie  Captain  retreated  and  had 
his  pounded  borne  from  the  field,  badly  demoral- 
ized. In  the  melee  the  sheath  of  a  dagger  pistol 
was  dropped  by  him  and  secured  as  evidence. 

Isaiah  and  James  Rynders  were  duly  indicted 
by  the  next  grand  jury  for  riot  in  connection  with 
Phi? lips  and  McCloske}^  Isaiah  was  also  indicted 
for  assault  with  a  deadly  weapon  with  intent  to 
kill  Russell  Losee  and  William  Campbell.  After 
several  escapades  and  forfeitures  and  estreatments 
of  bail  bonds  they  were  brought  to  trial  in  Decem- 
ber 1846.  William  A.  Beach  was  district  attorney, 
but  party  spirit  ran  high  and  the  leading  whigs  of 
the  county  assumed  the  prosecution.  The  election 
of  Polk  in  1844  had  been  carried  by  the  vote  of 
New  York,  and  Rj^nders  and  his  shoulder  hitting 
Empire  Club  had  been  strongly  instrumental  in 
achieving  that  result.  The  whigs  had  now,  they 
thought,  the  power  to  shelve  him  at  Dannemora, 
so  they  engaged  Judiah  Ellsworth  and  John  K. 
Porter,  the  most  able  and  distinguished  of  their 
legal  partisans  in  the  county,  to  assist  Mr.  Beach. 
The  latter  stood  aside  and  gave  them  full  scope. 
Gen.  Bullard  defended  the  prisoners,  and  had 
Judge  Hay  associated  with  him.  When  the  indict- 
ments were  reached,  the  prosecution  asked  the 
defendants'  counsel  which  of  the  two  they  prefer- 
red to  try  first.  Gen.  Bullard  promptly  responded 
the  riot  charge  against  the  four  prisoners.  The 
trial  was  then  moved  and  a  jury  was  impaneled. 
Russell  Losee  was  called  and  sworn  as  to  the  riot, 


88  THE  BENCH   AND  BAR 

giving  all  the  facts  of  the  shooting,  and  testifying 
that  Isaiah  Rynders  pointed  a  pistol  towards  him 
and  discharged  it.  No  objection  was  made  to  the 
testimony  by  the  defendants'  counsel.  After  the 
prosecution  had  closed,  Judge  Hay  remarked  that 
as  a  plain  case  had  been  made  by  the  people  the 
defense  would  offer  no  testimony.  The  j  ury  retired 
and  returned  witii  a  verdict  against  Isaiah  and 
James  Rynders.  Judge  Marvin  thereupon  passed 
sentence,  hning  the  former  $100  and  the  latter  $50. 
The  prosecution  theu  moved  the  trial  of  the 
indictment  against  the  famous  Captain  for  assault 
with  intent  to  kill  with  a  deadly  weapon.  The 
great  crowd  that  surged  into  the  court  house  now 
expected  to  see  the  proceedings  that  would  in  a 
few  hours  consign  him  to  a  felon's  cell  and  termin- 
ate his  wild  political  career.  A  jury  was  sworn 
and  Losee  again  took  the  witness  stand  and  began 
to  repeat  the  evidence  given  on  tl  e  foriner  trial. 
At  this  point  Gen.  Bullard  raised  the  constitutional 
objection  that  a  person  cannot  be  tried  twice  for  the 
same  offense,  or  act ;  and  claimed  that  Rynders 
had  already  suffered  the  penalty  of  the  law  for  tlie 
offense  the  witness  was  delineating.  If  a  bomb  shell 
had  exploded  at  this  minute  in  the  bar  the  distin- 
guished counsel  for  the  people  coukl  not  have  been 
more  astonished  than  at  this  unexpected  upshot  of 
affairs.  They  argued  at  length  to  overcome  the 
objection.  The  horrid  looking  sheath  (dropped  by 
Rynders  in  his  flight)  was  dramatically  brandished 
before  the  court.     But  all  to  no  avail.  Judge  Mar- 


OF   SARATOGA   COTTTiTTY. .  89 

vin  held  the  objection  to  be  well  taken  and  ordered 
the  discharge  of  Rynders. 

The  latter  was  appointed  to  a  lucrative  office  in 
New  York  by  President  Polk  and  held  it  until 
removed  by  Gen.  Taylor.  Once  more  he  came  into 
political  notice.  Twenty  years  ago  he  and  the 
Empire  Club  were  again  active  in  the  campaign 
that  ended  in  the  election  of  James  Buchanan.  He 
was  appointed  as  a  reward  to  the  honorable  position 
of  marshal  of  the  southern  district  of  New  York, 
and  discharged  its  duties  with  credit.  One  of  his 
exploits  was  his  arrest  of  Lamar' s  famous  yacht 
Wanderer  which  was  fitted  out  in  the  harbor  of  New 
York  for  a  slave  voyag'-"  in  the  summer  of  1860. 
Rynders  dressed  himself  as  a  rustic  and  strolled 
along  the  wharf  one  forenoon.  In  this  incognito 
he  apparently  blundered  on  board  of  the  slaver,  and 
amused  the  officers  and  men  with  his  droll  and 
uncouth  expressions.  Completely  allaying  their 
apprehensions,  he  gathered  information  which 
could  in  no  other  manner  have  been  obtained,  and 
probably  by  no  other  man.  In  the  afternoon,  in 
his  character  as  marshal,  he  again  boarded  the 
yacht  at  the  head  of  a  file  of  marines  and  libelled 
the  vessel.  This  one  exploit  went  a  great  way 
towards  wiping  out  with  all  parties  the  obloquy 
formerly  attached  to  his  name.  He  was  always 
kind  and  generous  to  his  aged  parents  and  sup- 
ported them  in  their  latter  days  in  comfort.  While 
holding  his  last  office,  he  one  day  met  Gen.  Bul- 
lard  on  Broadway.     After  exchanging  salutations, 


90  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

he  stated  that  he  had  never  paid  him  for  that  "lit- 
tle service  done  for  him  in  Ballston,"  and  then 
handed  hira  twenty  live  dollars.  It  was  over  ten 
years  after  the  trial  and  all  legal  claim  on  him 
was  barred.  What  he  did  therefore  was  a  matter 
of  honor  and  gratitude.  He  is  yet  living  some- 
where in  New  Jersey.  In  his  prime  he  was  an 
earnest  and  magnetic  speaker  and  had  a  wonder- 
ful influence  with  the  uneducated  masses  whenever 
he  addressed  them.  The  author  remembers  hear- 
ing him  speak  in  Cohoes  in  1860. 

At  the  September  term  1845,  Daniel  D.  Keeler 
was  tried  as  an  accessory  to  the  crime  of  William 
S.  Travis  who  entered  the  barn  of  Andrew  Van 
Vranken  in  Clifton  park,  April  16,  1845,  and  took 
therefrom  one  horse,  a  wagon  and  a  harness. 
Travis  had  previously  been  convicted  and  sent  to 
states  prison  for  five  years.  The  people  were 
represented  b}^  District  Attorney  Beach,  John  K. 
Porter  and  Edward  F.  Bullard.  Keeler  was  de- 
fended by  John  Brotherson  and  William  B.  Litch. 
The  jury  retired  under  the  charge  of  constable 
William  B.  Harris  and  returned  with  a  verdict 
of  guilty.  Keeler  was  sent  to.  share  Travis'  impris- 
onment. 

At  the  September  term  1846  the  name  of  John 
Radford  of  Galway,  appeared  as  one  of  the  con- 
stables in  attendance  at  court.  He  continued  in 
offi  'e  until  liis  death  in  1871,  and  was  regularly 
summoned  by  the  sheriff  to  attend  all  the  courts  of 
this  county.     His  white  head  became  to  be  regarded 


OF   SAEATOGA   COUKTY.  91 

as  much  a  fixture  of  the  court  room  as  did  the  four 
pillars  of  the  bar  against  one  of  which  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  recline. 

About  this  period  William  A.  Beach  and  John 
K.  Porter  stood  at  the  front  of  the  bar  of  Saratoga 
count}^  and  their  fame  was  fast  widening  and 
creating  the  demand  for  them  to  remove  first  to 
Troy  and  Albany,  and  finally  to  the  great  metropo- 
lis of  our  nation,  where  they  still  stand  side  by  side 
with  O'  Conor  and  Evarts  in  the  front  rank  of  the 
bar  of  the  United  States.  An  incident  in  their  early 
rivalry  and  strife  to  excel  is  related  by  an  eye  wit- 
ness to  the  author.  At  the  December  term,  1846, 
William  R,  Ford  of  Eallston  Spa,  and  his  cousin 
William  H.  Ford  were  brought  to  trial  for  an 
assault  and  battery  on  Thomas  Mainhood,  an  Eng- 
lish giant  who  resided  for  many  years  in  that  village. 
The  Fords  were  diminutive  lads  of  their  age,  and, 
as  their  fathers  refused  to  become  interested  in  their 
behalf,  Mr.  Poi-ter  volunteered  to  defend  them.  He 
excited  considerable  merriment  in  court  by  a  com- 
parison of  the  size  of  his  "infants"  with  the  her- 
culean Mainhood.  This  aroused  the  leonine  energy 
of  Mr.  Beach,  who  pressed  the  matter  to  the  jury 
and  secured  a  conviction.  Callender  Beeclier  vol- 
unteered to  aid  Mr.  Porter.  The  boys  were  fined 
$15  each,  whereupon  Mr.  Beach  acknowledged  the 
receipt  of  the  fines  and  in  a  trumpet  tone  told  the 
lads  to  go  home  and  keep  out  of  such  bad  company. 
At  the  same  term  John  McKnight  was  convicted  of 
arson  in  firing  the  store  of  Samuel  Irish,  in  Ballston 


92  THE  BENCH  AT?-©  BAR 

Spa,  on  the  night  of  August  21,  1846.  He  was 
defended  by  Porter  and  Hay,  but  was  convicted 
and  sentenced  to  ten  years  in  states  prison.  At  the 
next  term,  held  in  March,  1847,  Irish  was  convicted 
as  an  accessory  of  McKnight  and  sent  up  for  a  like 
term.  His  object,  it  was  proved,  was  to  obtain  the 
insurance. 

The  March  term,  1847,  was  the  last  held  under 
the  old  constitution.     First  judge  Thomas  J.  Mar- 
vin with  judges  W.  L.  F.  Wai-ren,  John  Gilclirist 
and  Lewis  Stone  sat  on  the   bench.     Thomas  Low 
was  sheriff;  James  W.  Horton,  clerk  ;  and  Hiram 
Boss,  crier.     The  most  important  case  tried  at  that 
term  was  the  indictment  against  Thomas  B.  Thomp- 
son, Joseph  Bitely,  Sanford  Olmstead,  Levi  01ms- 
tead,  Jacob  Wallace,  John  Dot}^  John  C.  FoUerton, 
John  Vanderwerken  and  David  DeGarmo  for  tear- 
ing down  the  Fort  Miller  state  dam  across  the  Hud- 
son river.     The  defendants  were  farmers  owning  the 
fee  simple  of  lands  in  the  town  of  Northumberland 
which  they  claimed  had  been  flooded  by  the  state 
contrary  to  the  well  known    legal    maxim    that 
"private  property  cannot  be  converted  to  the  pub- 
lic use  without  due  compensation."     In  the  course 
they  took  under  the  cov-er  of  that  principle  they 
acted  in  accordance  with  the  advice  of  Judge  Ha3^ 
At  tlie  trial  the  state  was  represented  b3'-Hon.  John 
Van  Buren,  attorney  general,  and   District  Attor- 
ney Beach.     The  defense  was  conducted  by  Judge 
Hay   and  John  K.   Porter.     The  former  was  par- 
ticularly severe  in  his  address  to  the  jury  upon 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  93 

what  he  termed  the  "Fort  Miller  canal  ring,"  who 
had  "inported  Prince  John  to  aid  William  A. 
Beach  in  the  warfare  they  were  waging  against  the 
honest  j^eomaniy  of  Northumberland."  The  jury 
found  a  verdict  of  acquittal. 

In  addition  to  the  other  judges  mentioned  who 
sat  in  the  Court  of  Sessions  were  Seymour  St.  John 
of  Providence  and  Joshua  MandeviRe  of  Water- 
ford.  In  the  clerk's  desk  had  sat  successively 
Alpheus  Goodrich,  Archibald  Smith,  Horace  Good- 
rich and  James  AV.  Horton.  John  Dunning  had 
been  succeeded  as  sheriff  by  John  R.  Mott,  John 
Dunning,  Lyman  B.  Langworthy,  John  Dunning, 
John  Yernam,  Joseph  Jennings,  Samuel  Freeman, 
Robert  Spier,  Isaac  Frink,  and  Thomas  Low  ;  and 
as  jailor  by  Chester  Stebbins,  Thomas  Low,  Row- 
laud  A.  Wright  and  Philip  H.  McOmber,  Major 
Buel,  the  old  crier,  had  been  followed  in  that  "old 
publicfunctionary"  line  by  Nathaniel  Stewart  and 
Hiram  Boss.  Thus  closed  the  criminal  court 
records  of  this  county  under  the  old  system. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  COURT  OF  COMMON  PLEAS. 

The  Common  Pleas  as  it  existed  in  the  state  under 
the  constitutions  of  1777  and  1821,  was  in  all  essen- 
tial elements  the  successor  of  the  original  colonial 
court  of  the  same  name  established  in  New  York  by 
the  order  of  the  governor  and  council  May  15,  1689. 
Besides  the  Common  Law  jurisdiction  inherent  in 
it  as  a  court  of  the  realm,  which  was  recognized  by 
the  state  constitutions  before  mentioned ;  it  had 
statutory  authority  confided  to  it  by  successive  leg- 
islatures until  its  scope  embraced  power  to  try  local 
and  transitory  actions  wherein  the  amount  sought 
to  be  recovered  did  not  exceed  a  certain  sum  named 
in  the  statute,  which  was  hxed  by  different  legisla- 
tures at  various  sums  ;  to  hear  appeals  from  jus- 
tices' courts  and  to  grant  new  trials  ;  to  have  the 
custody  of  insolvent  debtors,  and  to  grant  release 
to  such  insolvents  ;  to  hear  and  determine  suits  in 
partition  of  lands  ;  to  issue  permits  for  ferriages  ; 
to  have  the  custody  of  the  persons  and  estates  of 
lunatics  ;  to  try  and  determine  suits  in  ejectment, 
and  such  other  jurisdi(;tion,  either  original  or  on 
appeal  from  the  court  below,  as  from  time  to  time 
was  confided  to  it  by  the  legislature  in  their  wis- 
flom,   until  it  became  so  burdened   that  it  was 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  95 

unequal  to  its  task,  and  the  difficulty  to  get  a  hear- 
ing at  its  bar  was  such  as  to  apply  to  it  throughout 
the  state  the  witty  epigram  applied  to  that  of  our 
county  at  a  certain  period  by  the  late  Horatio  Buel 
of  Glen's  Falls: 

"The  sloth  is  slow,  the  snail  is  slow  ; 

They  dearlj'  love  thtir  ease  : 
But  the  slowest  thing  on  all  Gods's  earti 

Is  the  Saratoga  Common  Pleas." 

The  first  term  of  this  court  held  in  the  new  court 
house  convened  Angus [  24,  1819,  with  First  judge 
James  Thompson  and  judges  Abraham  Moe,  Salmon 
Child  and  John  Prior  on  the  bench.     At  the   hrst 
term  the  court,  ordered  that  two   solitary   cells   be 
prepared  in  the  goal  for  the  reception  of  convicts 
who  may  be  sentenced  to  punishment  therein.  They 
also  took  measures  to  alleviate  the  woes  of  those 
unfortunate  poor  debtors  who  were  consigned  to 
the   count}^  jail   because   they   were  guilty  of  not 
having  enough  of  this  world' s  goods  to  satisfy   the 
claims  of  their   creditors.     They  fixed  the  limits 
within  which  this  class  might  secure  labor  to  sup- 
port themselves  and  families,  and  woe  to  them  and 
their  bailors  if  they  wandered  beyond  the  stated 
"metes  and  bounds."     The  ''limits"  were  enlarged 
at  different   terms  until  in   August,    1829   it  was 
"ordered   that  the  jail  limits   for  this  county  be 
altered  and  established  according  to  the  boundaries 
and  surveys  made  by  James  Scott,  and  that  as  soon 
as   the  said  'James  Scott  makes  a  description  and 
map  thereof  and  files  the  same  in  the  clerk' s  office 


96  THE   BENCH   AND   BAE. 

of  this  county  the  said  jail  limits  shall  take'eflfect." 
They  were  accordingly  filed  August  29,  1829,  and 
remain  to  this  day  as  then  established.  The 
"limits"  are  as  follows  : 

'•Beginning  ou  the  north  line  of  tlie  town  of  Ballston  at  the 
soutlieast  corner  of  land  belonging  to  Stephen  Smith  and  runs 
thence  north  liity-four  chains  and  ninet)'  one  links  io  a  post  set  in 
the  ground;  thence  west  nineteen  chains  and  thirty-eight  links  to 
a  post  set  in  the  ground  ;  on  the  easterly  side  by  the  road  running 
northerly  from  Ballston  Spa  to  Greenfield  thence  north  eleven 
chains  to  a  stake  set  in  the  ground  ;  thence  west  fifteen  chains  and 
thirty  one  links  to  a  stake  set  in  the  ground  ;  thence  south  twenty- 
five  chains  and  eighty  six  links  to  a  stake  set  in  the  ground  ;  thence 
west  thirty-four  chains  and  sixty-nine  links  to  a  stake  set  in  the 
ground  ;  thence  south  sixty  two  chains  and  thirty-eight  links  to  a 
stake  set  in  the  ground  ;  thence  east  sixty  nine  chains  and  thirty- 
eight  links  to  a  stake  set  in  the  ground  ;  thence  north  twenty-two 
chains  ano  sixteen  links  to  the  place  of  beginning,  containing  five 
hundred  acres  of  laud.  The  above  courses  being  run  as  ihe  mag" 
netic  needle  pointed  in  the  year  17(JD." 

The  imprisonment  of  a  debtor  was  in  the  main  an 
unsatisfactory  process  in  the  collection  of  debts. 
The  debtor  usually  found  friends  to  bail  him  for 
the  "jail  liberties,"  and  many  were  the  devices  used 
by  both  parties,  the  creditors  to  entice  him  beyond 
the  boundaries  and  thus  render  the  bailors  liable 
for  the  debt,  and  the  debtor  to  return  surre^Jtitiously 
to  his  home  and  then  keep  his  "weather  eye" 
turned  in  the  direction  of  his  prosecutor  to  watch 
:.or  any  sudden  movement  on  his  part.  This  was 
usually  done  on  Sunday,  on  which  day  he  was  at 
liberty  to  go  where  he  pleased,  for  no  civil  2jrocess 
could  be  then  served,  and  when  once  at  home  the 


OF    SARATOGA   COUNTY.  97 

temptation  to  remain  was  too  strong  to  resist.  Prom 
many  anecdotes,  I  select  the  following  as  illustra- 
tive of  the  state  of  affairs  between  these  two  impor- 
tant classes  of  the  body  politic.  A  country  merchant 
having  a  debtor  "on  the  limits"'  hired  a  man  to 
induce  the  latter  to  go  with  him  to  spear  suckers  in 
the  Gordon  creek  one  fine  May  evening,  and  as  soon 
as  they  had  crossed  the  fatal  line  an  officer  stepped 
from  his  ambush  and  served  the  process  on  the 
sheriff:  The  matter  was  then  in  readiness  to  come 
mence  ai:  action  for  an  escape  against  the  sheriff", 
who  was  now  bound  to  pay  the  debt  and  then  look 
to  his  securities  for  remuneration.  Tiie  other  was 
that  of  a  man  in  Stillwater,  who  was  unable  to  pay 
his  physician's  bill,  and  in  consequence  soon  found 
himself  enjoying  a  '  'sojourn  at  the  Springs."  After 
a  few  weeks  this  got  to  be  irksome,  and  he  yearned 
for  the  society  to  be  found  at  the  "South  end  of  the 
lake."  So  trusting  to  his  ability  to  outwit  his 
adversary  he  returned  home.  After  several  days 
he  learned  from  his  scouts  that  the  enemy  was  in 
motion,  and  at  once  he  began  a  '  'masterly  retreat' ' 
on  Ballston.  It  was  a  bright  summer's  night,  and 
as  he  was  trudging  on  foot  and  had  just  crossed 
the  Mourning- kil  he  heard  the  sound  of  a  wagon 
in  the  rear.  Hastily  seeking  cover,  he  saw  his 
creditor  drive  leisurely  by.  Taking  a  convenient 
distance  he  brought  up  the  rear  in  the  march  to  the 
court  house.     Sheriff  Dunning  was  aroused  by  the 

creditor  and  informed  "that ,  a  judgment 

debtor  confined  in  the  jail  limits  had  escaped  and 
5 


98  THE  BENCH  AND   BAR 

was  then  at  his  home  in  Stillwater."  This  assertion 
was  instantly  negatived  by  the  debtor,  who  had 
arrived  opposite  where  the  clerk' s  office  now  stands, 
and  indignantly  pronounced  it  a  falsehood. 

But  the  time  came  when  it  was  no  longer  a  crime 
to  be  "poor  but  honest,"  and  the  statute  abolishing 
imprisonment  for  debt,  excepting  those  of  a  tortuous 
origin,  took  effect  March  4,  1832,  and  the  "jail 
limits,"  except  for  debtors  whose  delinquencies  are 
of  a  quasi  criminal  nature,  ceased  to  exist.  It  went 
to  the  shades  to  be  gathered  with  the  whipping  post, 
the  cucking  stool  and  other  "liberties"  secured  to 
the  English  speaking  citizen  by  that  famous  instru- 
ment .obtained  on  the  banks  of  the  Runnymede  by 
rebellious  barons  from  the  unwilling  king. 

All  topics  relating  to  highways  and  bridges  were 
a  part  of  the  common  law  jurisdiction  of  this  court 
and  frequent  questions  arose  in  this  county  in  the 
early  years  for  it  to  determine.  The  towns  of  Mil- 
ton and  Saratoga  by  reason  of  the  Kayaderosseras 
and  Fish  creeks  were  put  to  an  undue  expense  to 
maintain  free  bridges  for  the  use  of  the  public,  and 
they  justly  asked  that  the  county  should  be  taxed 
to  assist  in-  maintaining  those  on  the  great  thorough- 
fares. At  the  August  term  1822,  the  following 
entry  is  made  in  the  minutes : 

On  reading  and  filing  the  petition  of  tlio  commissioners  of  liigh- 
vviiys  of  tlie  town  of  Milton  on  tlieir  appeal  from  the  deterinin- 
aton  of  the  board  of  supervisors  of  the  county  of  Saratoga  against 
the  application  «f  the  said  commissioners  to  the  said  board  of 
supervisors  pursnanl  to  section  'i'.]  of  the  "act  to  regulate  liiglnvays," 
passed  March  19, 1813,  for  such  sum  of  money  to  be  raised  en  the 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  99 

said  county  as  would  be  sufficient  to  defraj^  the  expenses  of  erect- 
ing and  repairing  bridges  in  tlio  said  town  of  Milton,  and  praying 
tbat  tbesaid  determination  might  be  revised.  And  the  court  now 
having  revised  said  determination,  and  it  having  been  duly  made 
to  appear  to  the  court  that  the  said  town  of  Milton  is  unreasonably 
burdened  by  haring  to  erect  and  repair  necessary  bridges  across 
the  Kayaderosseras:  It  is  therefore  ordered,  that  the  said  super- 
visor raise  the  sum  of  $500  on  the  said  county  for  the  purpose  of 
erecting  and  repairing  bridges  in  the  said  town  of  Milton. 

With  the  amount  thus  raised  the  commissioners 
erected  the  two  stone  culvert  bridges  known  for 
nearly  half  a  century  as  the  "Blue  Mill"  and  ''Fac- 
tory village  bridges. ' '  They  were  substantially  built 
by  Joseph  Barker,  but  now  both  have  been  re- 
moved ;  the  latter  by  the  march  of  improvement, 
and  the  former  by  the  freshet  of  October  18,  1869. 
A  curious  circumstance  connected  with  this  was  the 
fact  that  Mr.  Barker  was  visiting  in  Ballston  Spa 
at  that  time,  and  from  the  railroad  above  he  wit- 
nessed the  fall  of  the  old  bridge.  Similar  rules 
were  entered  subsequently  .regarding  bridges  in 
Saratoga. 

Previous  to  1823,  all  causes  heard  in  this  court 
by  appeal  were  heard  on  pleadings  de  novo,  but  in 
the  April  terra  that  year  the  court  siiuplified  the 
practice  by  ordering  that  thereafter  ap])eals  should 
be  "heard  on  the  pleadings  in  the  courts  below." 
This  required  greater  care  in  the  joinder  o'  issues  in 
the  lower  court,  and  rendered  obsolete  a  class  of 
men  who  had  gained  a  precarious  livelihood  by  an 
irregular  practice  without  license  in  courts  not  of 
record,  and  by  the  mystifications  they  threw  their 


100  THE  BEl^CH  AND  BAR 

cases  into  gained  for  themselves  tlie  soiibriquet  of 
"pettifoggers."  The  naturalization  of  aliens  was 
one  of  the  duties  of  this  court,  confided  to  it  as  a 
court  of  record  by  the  laws  of  the  United  States, 
and  at  every  term  certificates  of  citizenship  were 
issued,  and  in  many  instances  the  parties  thus 
naturalized  became  prominent  citizens  and  business 
men  of  the  county.  The  first  to  be  naturalized  in 
the  present  court  house  were  Stephen  and  Thomas 
Titcomb  of  Waterford. 

The  want  of  system  in  the  care  and  preservation 
of  the  records  in  the  clerk's  offices  of  the  several 
counties  led  the  legislature  to  pass  a  statute  April 
18,  1826,  requiring  indices  of  deeds  and  mortgages 
to  be  made  and  kept  in  said  offices  ;  and,  at  the 
August  term,  1827,  the  court  entered  an  order 
directing  county  clerk  Thomas  Palmer  to  make 
such  indices.  And,  on  the  minutes  of  the  April 
term,  1842,  the  following  order  was  given  to  county 
clerk  Archibald  Smith  by  Thomas  J.  Marvin,  first 
judge : 

"Whereas  the  minutes  of  the  courts  of  this  county  not  having 
been  engrossed  on  the  books  of  record  provided  for  that  purpose 
for  several  j'ears  past,  and  it  being  uecessar}'  for  the  due  preserva- 
tion of  such  minutes  that  they  should  not  be  left  in  the  form  of  uv  re 
blotters  as  they  now  are :  it  is  hereby  ordered  that  the  clerk  of  the 
county  have  tlie  said  minutes  duly  engrossed  in  the  said  books, 
and  in  the  manner  hitherto  practiced  in  his  office." 

The  promptness  with  which  all  the  records  of  the 
county  have  been  properly  engrossed  and  the  ac- 
curacy with  which  they  have  been  kept  for  the  past 
thirty  years  by  the  veteran  clerk  James  W.  Horton 


OF  8ARAT0&A  COUNTY.  101 

is  the  secret  of  the  hold  he  has  upon  the  people  of 
this  county,  outside  of  party  lines,  and  which  has 
caused  his  repeated  re-elections  until  he  is  now 
serving  his  eleventh  term. 

Another  common  law  jurisdiction  of  this  court 
was  the  case  of  the  public  fisheries,  and  I  find  an 
order  entered  at  the  August  term  1830,. forbidding 
under  a  penalty  of  twenty -five  dollars,  the  taking 
from  Saratoga  lake,  or  any  of  its  tributaries,  or 
outlet,  of  the  fishes  known  as  pike  and  Oswego 
bass,  by  any  means  within  three  years  from  April 
1,  1831.  Similar  rules  were  entered  at  subsequent 
terms  relative  to  the  taking  of  certain  other  choice 
species  of  fish,  by  other  means  than  fair  angling, 
from  Saratoga,  Round  and  Ballston  lakes  and  the 
pond  of  the  Ballston  Spa  mill  company. 

In  the  year  1818,  congress  passed  an  act  pension- 
ing the  veterans  of  the  Revolution,  but  its  terms 
were  such  that  but  a  few  of  them  availed  themselves 
of  its  benefits.  Among  those  who  did  so  was  San- 
bun  Ford  of  Ballston  Spa,  better  known  as  "old 
Bona,"  from  his  ardent  admiration  of  Napoleon 
Bonaparte,  before  the  latter  had  expressed  his  Im- 
perialistic ideas.  In  1799,  Ford  an  1  Henry  Good- 
rich were  the  only  Jeffersonian  republican  voters 
in  Milton.  He  died  in  1848  aged  95  years.  Con- 
gress enacted  another  pension  bill  June  7,  1832, 
granting  pensions  to  the  survivors  of  the  war  for 
Independence.  It  was  passed  mainly  through  the 
efforts  of  oui  representative,  ex-Speaker  John  W. 
Taylor,  then  serving  his  last  term  in  the  House  of 


102  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

Representatives.  At  the  ensuing  August  term  of 
Common  Pleas  in  this  county,  certificates  that  they 
were  the  persons  mentioned  in  their  discharge  pa- 
pers were  issued  to  Col.  John  Ball,  Judge  Salmon 
Child,  Major  Ezra  Buel,  Captain  Kenneth  Gordon, 
Thaddeus  Scribner,  Samuel  Downing  and  one  hun- 
dred and  twelve  other  revolutionary  veterans.  At 
each  subsequent  term  of  tlif»  court  for  several  years, 
these  venerable  men  applied  for  the  sum  which  a 
generous  government  had  awarded  to  those  wh  j  had 
withstood  the  mighty  throes  which  gave  it  its  birth. 
Among  others  a  certificate  was  granted  to  David 
Goodhardt ;  but  it  subsequently  appeared  that  al- 
though he  had  "fought  at  Saratoga,"  it  was  in  the 
legion  led  from  Hesse  by  the  Baron  de  Reidesel,  and 
his  claim  which  had  been  the  work  of  an  unscrupu- 
lous claim  agent,  was  thrown  out.  No  blame  was 
attached  to  the  aged  German  who  had  been  a  re- 
spected citizen  here  many  years,  having  abandoned 
Burgoyne's  army  at  Albany,  for  he  was  now  in  his 
dotage ;  but  the  claim  agent  had  a  narrow  escape 
from  being  "put  where  he  would  do  the  most  good." 
The  actions  tried  in  this  court  were  mostly  of  a 
light  nature,  similar  to  those  now  tried  in  th(^  coun- 
ty court,  and  no  material  interest  now  attaches  to 
either  the  plaintiffs  or  defendants  in  connection  with 
their  causes  of  action,  so  that  the  field  for  sk(^tching 
the  workings  of  the  court  is  necessarily  a  limited 
and  barren  one.  The  time  now  approached  when 
the  court  was  to  be  abolished  with  all  its  ancient 
aj)cl  tii»e  honored  machinery.     It  went,  not 


OF  SAEATOGA   COUNTY.  103 

"Like  the  baseless  fabric  of  a  vision 
And  left  not  a  wrack  behind  :" 

for  it  still  exists  in  the  memories  of  the  upright 
judges  who  sat  on  its  bench,  and  in  the  recollections 
of  the  eloquence  of  its  bar.  The  constitution  adopt- 
ed by  the  people  November,  1846,  went  into  effect 
January  1,  1847.  The  old  courts  of  the  state  were 
superseded  by  the  new  ones  established,  which  were 
to  go  into  active  work  July  1,  1847,  and  all  original 
suits  pending  in  Common  Pleas  were  transferred  to 
the  new  Supreme  Court,  and  all  pending  appeals 
from  justices'  courts  to  the  new  county  court. — 
Therefore,  by  the  direction  of  Judge  Marvin  at  the 
close  of  the  April  term  1847,  on  the  twenty-first  day 
of  the  month,  crier  Hiram  Boss  sounded  for  the  last 
time  the  ancient  form  :  Hear  ye,  hear  ye,  all  man- 
ner of  men,  this  term  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  and  the  Court  of  General  Sessions  of  the  Peace 
held  in  and  for  the  county  of  Saratoga  is  now  ad- 
journed sine  die.'''' 


CHAPTER   IX. 

CAUSES  TRIED  IN  THE  OLD  CIRCUIT  COURT. 

The  first  circuit  court  held  in  the  present  court 
house  convened  May  25,  1819,  with  Chief  Justice 
Ambrose  Spencer  on  the  bench.  Prior  to  the  adop- 
tion of  the  constitution  of  1821,  the  several  circuits 
were  successively  held  by  Judges  Jonas  Piatt, 
John  Woodworth  and  Joseph  C.  Yates.  By  the 
act  of  the  legislature  passed  April  17,  1823,  under 
the  provisions  of  the  constitution  of  1821  the  state 
was  divided  into  eight  districts,  and  no  changes 
were  to  be  made  in  them  during  the  continuance  of 
this  court.  At  least  two  Circuit  Courts  and  Oyer 
and  Terminers  were  to  be  held  annually  in  each 
county.  The  constitution  provided  that  the  gover- 
nor and  the  senate  should  appoint  a  circuit  judge 
for  each  district,  with  the  same  tenure  of  office  as 
the  Supreme  Court  judges  ;  who  hereafter  were  to 
only  have  appellate  jurisdiction,  and  their  number 
was  reduced  to  a  chief  justice  and  two  puisne 
judges.  Each  of  the  circuit  judges  had  equity  ju- 
risdiction in  his  own  district  as  vice  chancellor.  — 
Under  the  authority  of  the  constitution  and  the 
statute  Governor  Yates  and  the  senate,  April  21, 
1823,  appointed  tlie  following  distinguished  coun- 
selors to  be  circuit  judges,  viz :  Ogden  Edwards, 


OF  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  105 

Samuel  R.  Betts,  William  Duer,  Reuben  Hyde 
Walworth,  Nathan  Williams,  Samuel  Nelson,  Enos 
T.  Throop  and  William  B.  Rochester. 

There  are  no  reported  cases  that  were  tried  at  the 
Saratoga  Circuit  un'der  the  first  constitution  during 
the  time  embraced  in  this  chapter  ;  but  the  suit 
brought  by  Aletta  Beekman  against  Judge  Harvey 
Granger,  which  was  tried  May  29,  1821,  before 
Judge  Woodworth,  is  deserving  of  mention.  It 
was  for  damages  to  the  real  estate  of  the  plaintiff, 
situated  on  the  banks  of  Saratoga  lake,  by  the  stop- 
page of  the  waters  in  the  outlet  of  the  lake,  occa- 
sioned by  the  mill  dam  of  the  judge  at  Granger- 
ville.  It  was  claimed  that  what  is  now  termed  the 
"drowned  lands"  was  caused  by  such  obstrnction. 
James  Scott,  the  surveyor,  performed  a  singular 
feat  of  engineering  in  surveying  the  lands  thus 
flooded,  by  rowing  over  the  courses  in  a  skiff.  The 
principle  that  water  will  "pile,"  or  accumulate,  by 
reason  of  obstructions  to  its  natural  course  did  not 
then  obtain  credence  among  hydraulic  engineers, 
and  it  being  proved  that  the  height  of  defendant's 
dam  was  below  the  level  of  the  surface  of  the  lake, 
a  verdict  was  rendered  for  the  defendant  by  the 
jury,  which  consisted  of  James  Dunn,  Palmer 
Cady, Preserved  Wait,  Ezra  Starr,  Benj.  Carpenter, 
William  Jeffords,  jr.,  Thomas  Fellows,  Luther 
Landon,  John  W.  Creal,  John  Gilbert,  William 
Mills  and  Cornelius  Rowley.  John  V.  Henry  and 
James  McKown  were  the  plaintiff's  attorneys,  and 
Esek   Co  wen  and  Wm.  L.  F.  Warren  for  the  de- 


106  THE   BENCH   AND   BAR 

fendant.  Tliis  question  of  the  "piling"  of  waters 
has  long  l)een  a  disputed  one  among  hydraulic 
engineers.  The  recent  case  of  BuUard  against  the 
Saratoga  Victory  Company  for  damages  accruing 
from  a  stopi)age  of  the  natural  flow  of  the  waters 
of  the  same  Fish  creek  by  the  defendant's  dam  was 
decided  adverse  to  such  principle  by  Justice  Lan- 
don.  The  Supreme  Court  of  Vermont  went  to  the 
opposite  extreme  from  that  held  in  the  case  of 
Beekman  against  Granger,  when  it  pronounced  the 
opinion  that  a  mill  dam  is  an  obstruction  to  the 
natural  flow  of  the  stream,  even  above  a  "ripple." 
The  flrst  Circuit  under  the  new  system  convened 
July  28,  1823,  with  Judge  Walworth  on  the  bench. 
Among  the  actions  tried  before  him,  and  in  which 
he  enunciated  opinions  that  have  since  been  adopted 
by  the  highest  courts  of  the  state,  and  which  are 
still  tlie  ruling  precedents  on  the  points  covered  by 
them,  is  the  suit  of  James  Jackson  ex  clem.  John 
G.  Van  Schaick  against  Peter  Davis.  S.  G.  Hunt- 
ington and  A  Van  Vechten  were  counsel  for  the 
plaintiff,  and  John  L.  Viele  and  Samuel  A.  Foote 
for  the  defendant.  It  was  an  action  in  ejectment 
brought  to  recover  a  part  of  lot  3  and  the  whole  of 
lot  4  in  the  Halfmoon  patent.  The  plaintiff  pro- 
duced a  lease  ext^nited  by  Christina  Van  Schaick 
and  John  G.  Van  Schaick  and  .^nna  his  wife  to 
Alexander  Brevoort  (from  whom  the  defendant 
claimed  title)  dated  Januaiy  1,  1784,  for  the  term 
of  seventy  years  at  an  annual  rental  of  £4,  New 
York  currency.     The  defendant  besides  the  general 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  107 

issue  plead  adverse  possession  commencing  in  1798, 
since  which  time  neither  Davis  nor  his  grantors  had 
paid  the  rental,  nor  had  sucl.  been  demanded. 
Judgment  was  rendered  for  the  plaintiff,  from  which 
an  appeal  was  taken  to  the  Supreme  Court.  It  is 
reported  in  5  Coioen  123.  The  judgment  was 
affirmed.  Judge  Sutherland,  who  pronounced 
the  opinion,  held  with  the  court  below  that  "wlien 
the  relation  of  landlord  and  tenant  was  created, 
immediately  or  reraotf^ly,  the  succeeding  tenant  is 
bound  by  the  acts  of  his  predecessors  as  by  his 
own.  Mere  length  of  time  will  not  raise  a  pre- 
sumption of  evidence.  Mere  non-payment  of  rent, 
or  non-demand  of  rent  for  twenty  years  will  not 
raise  a  presumption  that  the  landlord's  title  is 
extinguished." 

At  the  June  Circuit  1824,  before  Judge  Nelson, 
the  ejectment  suit  brought  by  James  Jackson  ex 
clem.  Gerrit  Bogart  against  Eliphalet  King  was 
tried  with  a  jury.  Kirtland  &  Huntington  were 
plaintiff's  attorneys,  and  Levi  H.  Palmer  and  John 
L.  Wendell  were  the  opposing  counsel.  This  was 
one  of  a  number  of  suits  brought  to  regain  ancestral 
rights  by  Gerrit  Bogai  t,  whose  wife  was  the  2:rand- 
daughter  of  Magdalena,  or  "Peggy"  Peltz,  who  it 
was  claimed  was  the  granddaughter  of  William 
Appel,  of  whom  a  patent  to  land  in  Halfmoon  (now 
Clifton  Park)  was  granted  Sept.  10,  1708.  I'he 
defense  in  this,  and  the  other  suits  was  adverse 
possession.  The  plaintiff's  claim  of  title  was 
sought  to  be  established  by  proving  the  records  of 


108  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR. 

marriages  and  baptisms  in  the  Reformed  Protestant 
Dutch  church  of  the  city  of  New  York.  By  this 
it  appeared  that  one  William  Appel  and  his  wife 
had  their  son  Siinou  baptized  May  26,  1695.  Mag- 
dalena,  a  daughter  of  Simon,  was  baptized  in  1719. 
She  was  married  to  Abraham  Peltz,  August  25, 
1745.  She  died  in  1795.  Bogart' s  wife  was  thus 
the  fifth  in  descent  from  Appel,  the  patentee.* 

The  defense  objected  to  this  evidence,  but  it  was 
received  by  the  court.  The  defense  then  offered  in 
evidence  documents  showing  that  there  were  two 
William  Appels  living  in  New  York  in  1695,  as 
tending  to  show  that  the  Appel  mentioned  in  the 
church  records  was  not  Appel,  the  patentee.  Also, 
that  during  the  revolution  Peggy  Peltz  told  Elsie 
Van  Deusen  tliat  all  the  property  she  owned  was 
two  houses  in  New  York  city.  At  the  conclusion 
of  the  evidence  Judge  Nelson  remarked  that  "there 
were  two  questions  in  the  case  at  bar :  whether  the 
testimony  was  competent  to  prove  descent  in  the 
plaintiff;  and,  also,  whether  there  was  sufficient 
in  the  case  to  allow  it  to  go  to  the  jury."  Both 
questions  he  disposed  of  adverse  to  the  plaintiff, 
and  a  non-suit  was  ordered.  An  appeal  was  taken, 
and  a  new  trial  was  granted.  This  case  is  reported 
in  5  Cowen,  237.  Pending  this  motion  for  a  new 
trial,  another  of  these  Peltz  heirs  suits,  that  of 
Charles  Pioneer  against  David  Schauber  was,  tried 
at  the  June  Circuit,  1826,  i)efore  Judge  Walworth. 


*Froin   Ibis  Gerrit  Bogart  is  descended  Wliiiam  H.  B»gart,  the 
well  kuown  "Sentinel,  of  the  New  York  World." 


OF    SARATOGA   COUNTY.  109 

On  hearing  the  evidence  the  court  directed  a  ver- 
dict for  the  plaintift'.  It  was  affirmed  in  the 
Supreme  Court.  Tlie  several  claimants  of  adverse 
possessions  to  this  disputed  territory  then  made 
common  cause  against  their  foe  and  carried  this 
case  to  the  Court  of  Errors,  where  the  Bogai-t- 
Pioneer  claims  were  effectually  quashed  by  the 
reversal  of  the  decision  of  the  court  below.  It  held 
that  if  Gerrit  Bogart,  who  was  an  attorney  in  prac- 
tice residing  in  Schenectady,  but  sixteen  miles  from 
the  lands  in  question,  had  h(4d  a  valid  claim  of 
title,  he  would  not  have  suffered  it  to  lie  dormant 
for  over  thirty  years,  while  th*^  occu])aiits  under  a 
show  of  title  were  improving  tluir  farms.  The  case 
is  fully  reported  in  2  Wendell  14. 

James  Jackson  ex  derm.  Thomas  Cook  against 
Philip  Shepherd,  a  suit  in  ejectment  involving  the 
validity  of  a  tax  sale,  was  tried  at  the  December 
Circuit,  1824.  John  L.Viele,  for  the  plaintiff,  sought 
to  establish  that  the  plaintiff  make  a  bona  fide  ^uy- 
chase  of  lands  in  Moreau  sold  at  a  regularly  adver- 
tised tax  sale,  and  as  such  purchaser  was  entitled 
to  the  desmesne.  Esek  Cowen,  for  the  defendant, 
proved  that  no  demand  of  the  tax  was  made  on  the 
premises,  as  required  by  the  statute,  and  that  there 
was  personal  property  subject  to  distraint  thereon 
at  the  time  of  the  levy.  A  non  suit  was  granted  by 
Judge  Walworth,  which  was  sustained  on  appeal, 
as  will  be  seen  by  a  reference  to  7  Cowen  88. 

At  the  Circuit  held  by  Judge  Nathan  Williams 
in  May,  1828,  the  libel  suit  brought  by  Hon.  John 
6* 


110  THE   BENCH   AND   BAR 

Cramer  against  Robert  Martin  and  Solomon  South- 
wick  was  tried.     The  alleged  libel  was   published 
in  the  Albany  Daily  Advertiser  and  charged  Cra- 
mer  with  corrupt  practices  as  a  senator.     George 
W.  Kirtland  associated  with  him  in  the  prosecution 
the   well   known  Elisha  Williams  of  Hudson,  and 
the  defendants   secured   the   celebrated    :idvocate, 
Samuel  Stevens  of  Salem.     They  were  among  the 
foremost  lawyers  of  tliat  era  of  great  men.   Williams 
was  undoubtedly,  physically,  the  heaviest  gun,  for 
he   weighed   over   300   pounds  avoirdupois.     The 
case  attracted  great  attention,  not  only  from  the  dis- 
tinction of  the  parties,  and  the  reputation  of  Messrs. 
Williams  and   Stevens   as   orators,  but  from   the 
array   of  witness«'S   for   the  plaintiff  to  establish  a 
refutation  of  the  charges.     It  included  such  men  as 
Elijah   H.    Kimball,  Nicholas   B.  Doe,  George   T. 
Wright,  William   L.  Fish,  John   C.  Spencer,  and 
Ambrose   L.  Jordan.     The  defense  placed  no  wit- 
nesses  on    the   stand.      Mr.    Stevens   declined  to 
address  the  jury,    but   Mr.  Williams  dealt  out  to 
them   one   of  his   glittering  and  eloquent  appeals, 
such  as  with  which  he  was  wont  to  daze  the  jurors 
of  Columbia  county  half  a  century  ago.     One  of  his 
sentences  was  the  following  :     "These  defendants 
have  brought  here  before  you  the  most  able  and 
eloquent  counselor  in  the  state  of  New  York,  and 
this  most  able  and  distinguished  counselor  displays 
his   most    admirable    eloquence    by    holding   his 
tongue."     Williams  carri<^d  the  audience  and  jury 
with  him  and  secured  a  verdict  for  $5, 750  and  costs. 


OF   SARATOGA   COUN'TT.  Ill 

Cramer  wanted  but  a  vindication  of  his  character, 
and  it  is  said  that  lie  never  collected  his  judgment. 
The  ejectment  suit  brought  by  James  Jackson  ex 
clem  John  Haverly  against  Wm.  Fiench  which 
was  tried  before  Judge  Cowen  ai  his  first  Circuit, 
November,  1828,  is  noticeable  for  a  certain  principle 
decided  in  it  on  its  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court, 
as  reported  in  3  Wendell  837.  Judge  Savage  deliv- 
ered the  dActa  of  the  court,  which  incidentally  states 
on  one  of  the  points  involved,  that  "the  privilege 
of  not  disclosing  a  communication  made  by  a  client 
to  counsel  is  confined  to  counselors,  interpreters 
and  attorney' s  clerks  ;  but  that  a  person  present  at 
such  communication  and  in  nowise  connected  with 
the  counsel  is  bound  to  testify."  Loiterers  in 
attorneys'  ofRces  will  thus  see  the  awkward 
positions  they  might  be  placed  in,  and  should  take 
no  offence  at  being  requested  to  vacate  on  the 
appearance  of  a  client.  The  opposing  counsel  were 
Daniel  Cady  and  Marcus  T.  Reynolds.  Cady,  for 
the  plaintiff,  had  a  numerical  preponderance  of 
evidence  at  the  trial,  and  the  witty  and  wily  Rey- 
nolds knowing  that  he  would  go  to  the  jury  heavy 
on  thai  subject  conceived  a  plan  to  outwit  him. 
Coming  to  this  point  ia  his  '' summing  up,"  he 
alluded  to  this  discrepancy.  To  be  sure  there  were 
five  persons  who  established  the  plaintiff's  case, 
and  hut  three  who  sustained  the  defendant  in  his 
rights.  Usually,  he  would  allow,  when  equal 
advantages  were  enjoyed  by  all  the  witnesses  to 
know  the  facts  the  side  having  the  most  was  entitled 


112  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

to  the  point,  as  his  Honor  would  undoubtedly 
charge.  But  there  are  acceptions  to  all  rules, 
'•For  instance,  my  brother,  Wan  en  (the  district 
attorney)  and  I  niightdiffer  as  to  what  this  (laying 
his  liand  on  the  ba;-e  poll  of  Mr.  Cady)  is.  I  should 
insist  that  it  was  a  head,  as  you  gentlemen,  see 
that  it  is.  He  might  declare  that  it  was  a  squash. 
We  could  never  reconcile  our  differences  of  opinion. 
We  might  agree  to  leave  the  matter  to  his  Honor, 
who  enjoys  i^qual  means  of  observation  with  us. 
Now  gentlemen,  if  my  opponent's  argument  which 
he  is  going  to  make  to  you  is  worth  a  rush,  if  his 
Honor  should  coincide  with  brother  War-ren,  I 
should  be  orced  to  yield  against  my  better  judg- 
ment."' A  burst  of  laughter  followed  this  sally, 
in  which  Cady,  the  court  and  jurors  joined.  Cady 
did  not  press  that  point  to  the  jury  and  a  verdict 
for  the  defendant  was  rendered. 


CHAPTEK  X. 

CAUSES  TRIED  IN  THE  OLD  CIRCUIT  COURT,  continued. 

The  ejectment  suit  of  James  Jackson  ex  dem. 
John  G.  Van  Schaick  against  Peter  Davis,  detailed 
in  the  preceding  chapter,  and  that  brought  by  the 
same  plaintiff  against  John  Vincent,  reported  in  4 
Wendell  633,  forms  the  basis  of  the  established  rule 
of  law  in  this  state,  as  laid  down  by  the  Court  of 
Appeals  in  disposing  of  the  Van  Rensselaer  "anti- 
rent"  cases,  in  all  their  phases.  Vincent  took  a 
lease  from  the  Van  Schaicks,  February  28,  1787, 
for  sixty  seven  years  at  a  rental  of  £9.  The  suit 
was  brought  in  May,  1827,  shortly  before  which 
time  the  rent  had  been  demanded  and  refused.  On 
the  trial  John  L.  Viele  for  the  defendant  admitted 
the  taking  of  the  lease.  Defendant  refused,  how- 
ever, to  pay  the  rent  because  he  had  taken  war- 
ranty deeds  'or  four  distinct  portions  of  the  farm  in 
question  from  one  Ludlow  and  three  other  parties, 
who  claimed  the  land  as  lying  within  their  allot- 
ment of  the  Kayaderosseras  patent.  On  this  proof 
and  admission  Messrs.  Huntington  &  Van  Vechten 
rested  the  plaintiff's  case.  Tlie  defendant  proved 
that  by  a  survey  made  under  the  act  of  March  11, 
1793,  passed  to  adjust  certain   difficulties   between 


114  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

the  Halfmoon,  Shanondhoi  and  Kayaderosseras 
patentees,  the  land  was  shown  to  be  within  the 
bounds  of  the  latter' s  domain.  The  plaintiff  in 
rebuttal  showed  that  by  that  act  itself  the  title  of  a 
party  who  did  not  sign  the  petition  for  its  passage 
was  not  affected  by  it  in  the  least.  It  was  con- 
clusively proven  that  neither  of  the  Van  Schaicks 
signed  the  petition.  Judge  WUliams,  before'whom 
the  suit  was  brought  to  trial  at  the  May  Circuit, 
1828,  charged  the  jury  that  the  lease  was  'prima 
facie  evidence  of  title  in  the  lessors,  and  the 
defendant  having  acceped  the  lease  was  not  to  be 
permitted  to  deny  his  landlord' s  title  And  that  a 
tenant  for  years  forfeits  his  term  by  refusal  to  pay 
rent,  and  by  accepting  a  claim  of  title  from  a  hos- 
tile source.  The  latter  being  a  species  of  rebellion 
against  his  liege  lord.  A  verdict  was  directed  for 
the  plaintiff  b}^  the  court.  The  defendant  moved 
the  Supreme  Court  to  set  aside  the  verdict,  but  it 
was  denied. 

The  action  which  was  brought  by  Amaziah  Ford 
against  Col.  James  Monroe,  a  nephew  of  the  ex- 
president,  attracted  much  attention  forty  year  sago. 
Monroe  was  president  of  the  Saratoga  k,  Schenec- 
tady railroad  company,  which  at  the  dat*'  of  this 
action  was  in  the  process  of  construction,  lie  resid- 
ed in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  was  for  si^varal 
years  a  season  guest  at  the  Sans  Souci.  A  servant 
of  Monroe  in  driving  his  gig  to  the  hotel  one  day  in 
the  season  of  1831,  ran  over  and  killed  a  young 
oMld  of  Mr.  Ford,  in  the  street  in  front  of  that  hotel. 


OF   SABATOGA   COUNTY.  115 

An  action  on  the  case  was  brouglit  by  Ford,  and 
tried  on  the  general  i-^sue  at  the  May  Circuit,  1883, 
before  Judge  Cowen.  The  court  charged  the  jury 
that  the  action  Linged  on  the  negligence  of  tlie 
servant.  The  plaintiff  should  recover,  if  he  should 
recover  at  all,  for  the  services  of  the  child,  for  the 
consequent  illness  of  his  wife,  and  for  the  expenses 
incurred  by  reason  of  the  death  of  the  child.  A 
verdict  was  rendered  for  $200,  which  was  sustained 
in  the  Supreme  Court  Orau  G.  Otis  was  the  suc- 
cessful attorney,  and  William  L.  F.  Warren,  no 
doubt,  fought  gallantly  at  the  head  of  the  "forlorn 
hope"  in  this  action  in  behalf  of  Monroe.  The  case 
is  reported  20  Wendell,  210. 

Any  of  the  citizens  of  Ballston  Spa,  or  others 
who  frequented  the  county  seat,  whose  memories 
extend  back  over  the  lapse  of  aboat  forty  years,  will 
recollect  the  "Arcade"  built  by  Harvey  Loomis, 
then  proprietor  of  the  Sans  Souci  hotel  and  the 
'  'Low  estate,"  in  Ballston  Spa.  When  the  Schenc- 
tady  and  Saratoga  railroad  was  chartered  and  the 
directors  were  securing  the  right  of  way,  Loomis 
luadi  an  agreement  with  Col.  James  Monroe  of 
New  York,  president  of  the  board  of  directors, 
giving  the  company  the  right  of  way  through  the 
estate  for  a  nominal  consideration,  and  further 
stipulating  that  they  should  stop  their  cars  in  front 
of  the  Sans  Souci  hotel.  By  some  means,  the  latter 
clause  was  omitted  from  the  deed  of  conveyance. 
This  subsequently  led  to  vexatious  suits  at  law. 
By  the  article  of  agreement  between  Loomis  and 


116  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

Monroe,  the  former  was  to  construct  an  "arcade" 
building  on   the  north  side  of  the  railroad  ti-ack 
across  what  is  now  Low  street,  in  which  were  to  be 
rooms  for  the  accommodation  of  passengers,  for  the 
storage  of  baggage,  and  for  offices  for  the  use  of  the 
company' s  agents.     Loomis  fulfilled  his  part  of  the 
contract,  but  the  board  of  directors  refused  to  ratify 
the  agreement  of  their  president,  and  built  a  pas- 
senger depot  on  the  west  side  of  Bath  street,   op- 
posite where  Marsden's  hotel  now  stands,  at  which 
point  they  stopped  their  cars,  instead  of  in  front  of 
the   Sans   Souci.     Loomis   then   began   an   action 
against  the  railroad  company  to  recover  the  moneys 
expended  by  them  in  building  the  "'arcade.'"     The 
suit  was  brought  by  his  son  Joseph  H.  Loomis  and 
Cicero  Loveridge,  his  attorneys.     Alonzo  C.  Paige, 
afterwards  the  distingu  ished  judge  and   attorney, 
for  the   company.     The   suit  was  brought  to  trial 
before  Judge  Cowenatthe  May  Circuit,  1834.     The 
plaintiff  declared  in  assuinj^sit,  and  the  defendant 
plead  non  assumpsit.     The  evidence  for  the  plain- 
tiif  was  his  agreement  with  Monroe.     The  defense 
proved   by  the  books  kept  by  their  secretary  that 
the  proposition  made  by  Monroe  was  not   adopted 
by   the  directors,   nor  was  he  authorized  to  enter 
into  such  an  agreement.     Tlie  court  entered  a  non- 
suit  on  the  motion  of  Mr    Paige.     Loomis  then 
brought  an  action  against  Col.  Monroe,  individu- 
ally,   to   recover   his    money.      A   demurrer   was 
entered  and  it  was  argued  in  the   Supreme   Court 
by  Mr.  Page  for,  and  Mr.  Loveridge  contra.     From 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  117 

the  p]aintift''s  points,  as  reported  in  HoioarcP  s 
Appeal  Cases ^  page  22,  it  appears  that  he  endeav- 
ored to  show  that  he  offered  to  give  free  right  of 
way  through  liis  lands  to  defendant  if  the  company 
would  erect  their  depot  in  Baliston  Spa  in  front  of 
his  hotel.  Defendant  agreed  that  the  depot  should 
be  so  built,  and  agre-'d  with  plaintiff  that  the  latter 
should  construct  the  same,  and  that  if  the  company 
failed  to  make  the  payment  for  it,  he  would  pay 
the  same.  The  defendant  claimed  that  the  under- 
taking on  his  part  was  collateral  and  not  original, 
and  that  his  promise  to  pay  was  without  consid- 
eration. The  court  held  that  the  pleadings  showed 
no  request  on  the  part  of  defendant  to  plaintiff  to 
build  the  ''arcade"  for  him,  and  sustained  the 
demurrer.  An  appeal  was  taken  to  the  Court  of 
Appeals  and  the  decision  was  affirmed.  The  final 
decision  is  noted  in  HowarcV  s  Appeal  Cases  page 
28.  The  unlucky  ''arcade"  stood  for  several 
years  in  a  dilapidated  state,  an  eyesore  to  all 
parties.  Its  fate,  like  that  of  the  famous  Ephesian 
temple,  was  somewhat  tragical.  The  name  of  the 
constructing  architect  in  each  instance  is  lost  to 
human  ken  : 

"  The  youth  who  fired  the  Ephesian  dome. 

Outlives  in  fame  the  pious  fool  that  reared  it  " 

Erostratus  has  come  down  the  stream  of  time  as 
the  crack-brained  youth  who  burned  the  temple, 
and  be  it  the  office  of  these  pages  to  'ommemorate 
the    name  of   Thomas    Staats,    who    solved    the 


118  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

"arcade"  question  by  blowing  the  structure  up, 
or  ratler  down,  with  a  bhist  of  gunpowder. 

The  next  important  case  tried  at  the  Saratoga 
Circuit  was  the  suit  brought  by  Minor  S.  Lincoln, 
a  gentleman  from  Boston,  against  the  Saratoga  and 
Schenectady  railroad  company.    This  was  an  action 
on  the  case  for  negligence  on  the  part  of  the  defend 
ant' s  servants.     It  was  tried  at  the  December  term, 
1837.     Messrs.  Anson  Brown  and  John  W.  Thomp- 
son were  attorneys  for  the  plaintiff,  and  Piatt  Potter 
of  Schenectady  defended  the  interf'sts  of  the  com- 
pany.    Lincoln  was  a  passenger  on  the  train  from 
Saratoga  Springs  to  Schenectady  August,  81,  18.:{6. 
A  short  distance  from  Ballston  Spa  the  train  came 
in  collision  with  another  coming  from  Schenectady. 
Plaintiff  sprang  off  the  cars  and  in  falling  fractured 
his  leg.     He   was   unable   to   return  to  his  home 
until   the  first   of  December.     He   proved   actual 
expenses  to  have  been  $690,  and  asked  exemplary 
damages  for  his  long  and  continued  pain,  and  for 
his  detention  from  business.     Judge  Willardin  his 
charge  to  the  jury  held  that  the  plaintiff  was  entitled 
to  recover  his  actual  daiiiages,  and  they  must  con- 
sider his  loss  of  reasonable  prohts  of  his  business, 
but  not  any  fanciful  figures  or  conjectures  as  to  the 
same.     A  verdict  was  rendr  d  for  §8,000  and  costs, 
A  motion  for  a  new  trial  was  made  in  the  Supreme 
Court.     It  was  argued  for  the  motion  by  Samuel 
Stevens,  and  opposed  by  Nicholas  Hill,  jr.     The 
motion  was  granted,   the   court    holding  that  the 
negligence  of  tlie  agents  of  the  company  sliould 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  119 

have  been  shown,  and  that  opinions  of  witnesses  as 
to  Lincohi'  s  damages  from  loss  of  time  was  inad- 
missible. It  is  reported  in  22  Wendell,  425.  A 
compromise  was  then  effected  by  the  company's 
agreeing  to  pay  $5,000 ;  which  Lincoln  accepted 
and  the  suit  was  withdrawn. 

Next  we  come  to  the  noted  "Rector  trial,"  which 
besides   the  other  points  of  interest  attached  to  it 
was   probably  the  only  criminal  trial  in  the  state, 
if  not  in  tlie  English  speaking  courts,  where  a  man 
was  tried  for  his  life  in  the  Circuit  court,  instead  of 
the   Oyer  and   Terminer.     The  prisoner,  Thomas 
Rector,  had  previous  been  tried  in  the  Albany  Oyer 
and  Terminer  and  convicted  of  murder  in  the  first 
degree.   A  new  trial  was  ordered  on  appeal,  and  on 
a  certiorari  the  Supreme  Court  ordered  Rector  to 
be  sent  to  the   Saratoga  Circuit  for  trial.     Judge 
Willard  insisted  that  he  should  try  the  indictment 
as  circuit  judge,  and  did  so.     The  event  of  the  suit 
pi-ecluded   an  appeal  from   his  decision.     Accord- 
ingly  at  the   May  Circuit,  1839,  Rufus  W.  Peck- 
ham,   district  attorney  of  Albany  county,  moved 
the  trial  of  Rector.     He  was  assisted  by  Attorney 
General   Willis  Hall  and    Samuel    Stevens.     The 
prisoner  was  defended  by  Henry  G.  Wheaton  and 
Ambrose  L.   Jordan.     The  notoriety  of  the   case 
and    the  ability  of  the  counsel  caused  the  court 
room  to  be  crowded  during  the  eight   days  of  the 
trial.     After  a   thorough   examination   of  a  long 
special    panel  a  jury  was  accepted  consisting  of 
David  Hodges,    Lewis    Stone,    Lansing    HolmeSj 


120  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR. 

Joseph  A.  Sweet,  Pardon  Elms,  George   Thomp- 
son, Henry  Patrick,  John  Rouse,  Charles  Patrick, 
Sylvester  Blood,  Thomas  Arnold,  jr.  and  William 
Mitchell.  Fi  om  tlie  evidence  it  appears  that  between 
twelve   and  one  o'clock  on  the  night  of  March  11, 
1838,  Robert  Shepherd  and  two  men  named  Wilson 
and   Whitney  went  to  a  bawdy  house  in  Albany, 
kept  by   Georgianna  Rector,  mistress  of  the  pris- 
oner.     They    were    intoxicated    and    Georgianna 
refused  to  let  them  enter  the  house.     They  declared 
that  they  would  go  in.     The  prisoner  came  to  the 
door,  and  seizing  the  door  bar  struck  Shepherd  on 
the  front   part  of  the  head.     He  fell  to  the  side- 
walk, and  was  taken  to  a  surgeon' s  and  died   the 
next  day.     The  evidence  of  the  surgeons  showed 
that  there  was  a  gash  on  the  front  of  the  scalp  and 
that  the  skull  was  fractured  near  the  base  of  the 
brain.     There  was   no  evidence  of  a  second  blow. 
The  defense  was  that  Shepherd  died  from  the  effects 
of  the   fall.     Thirty-six   witnesses  were  sworn  for 
the  people,  and  twenty  for  the  prisoner.     Among 
the  distinguished  surgeons  sworn  were  Drs.  March, 
McNaughton,   A^anderpoel  and  Peter  P.  Staats  of 
Albany,  and  Dr.  Valentine  Mott  of  New  York. 
The  jury   convicted   him   of  manslaughter  in  the 
second   degree.     He  was  then  remanded  by  Judge 
Willard  to  the  Albany  Oyer  and  Terminer  in  which 
he  was  subsequently  sentenced  to  states  prison  for 
seven  years.     Rector  in  his  boyhood  lived  at  Court 
House   Hill  in  this  county.     The  expenses  of  his 
trial  were  borne  by  his  brother,  Henry  Rector,  a 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  ISI 

distinguished  architect  of  New  York  city.  The 
first  trial  of  Rector  and  the  argument  in  tlie  Supreme 
Court  are  reported  at  length  in  19  Wendell,  569. 
The  result  of  the  trial  in  this  county  was  owing  to 
the  obstinacy  of  one  juror.  On  their  lirst  ballot 
they  stood,  I  am  told,  eleven  for  murder  in  thehrst 
degree,  aLd  the  other,  the  late  J  udge  Stone  of  Gal- 
way,  for  a  conviction  of  a  minor  crime.  Finally 
the  eleven  deferred  to  his  judgment,  and  thus  the 
determination  of  Judge  VVillard  to  sit  solus  in  a 
criminal  trial  w  is  never  reviewed,  for  Rector  was 
glad  to  escape  with  the  light  punishment  he 
received  for  his  crime.  Whether,  as  probably  was 
the  case,  it  was  a  clerical  error  that  named  the  Cir- 
cuit instead  of  the  Oyer  and  Terminer  in  the  order 
changing  the  venue  must  ever  remain  in  doubt. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

CAUSES  TRIED  IN  THE  OLD  CIRCUIT  COURT,  concluded. 

The  philosopher  of  the  Tribune  in  his  graphic 
"Record  of  a  Busy  life"  gives  a  full  history  of  the 
several  law  suits  which  his  trenchant  pen  drew 
upon  him.  His  caustic  criticisms  of  the  men  and 
times  m  which  he  lived  were  a  terror  to  thin 
skinned  politicians  and  nervous  writers.  Among 
those  suits  was  the  one  brought  by  the  well  knowo- 
author  of  the  '^Leather  Stocking"  series  of  novels, 
which  tnirty  years  since  commanded  great  attention 
in  the  literary  world  and  gave  their  author  an 
extensive  prominence.  J.  Fennimore  Coop'^r  was  of 
a  haughty  imperious  temperament,  and  tlie  sharp 
manner  in  which  the  Tribune  criticized  both  the 
man  and  his  literary  labors  galled  him  severely. 
To  obtain  redress,  he  commenced  a  libel  suit  against 
Horace  Greeley  and  Thomas  McEh-ath,  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  Tribune,  laying  his  damage  at 
$10,000.  The  suit  was  brought  by  his  nephew, 
Richard  Cooper,  an  attorne}^  of  great  celebrity. 
Tlie  venue  was  originally  laid  in  Otsego  county, 
the  home  of  Cooper.  Pending  a  motion  to  change 
the  venue  to  the  county  of  New  Yoi-k  it  was  finally 
stipulated  that  the  cause  should  be  brought  to  a 


k 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  123 

trial  before  the  farmers  of  Saratoga  county.  The 
selection  was  satisfactory  to  both  parties.  Cooper 
hoped  that  the  imprassion  made  by  laying  the 
scenes  of  the  "Last  of  the  Mohicans"  in  this  locality 
would  tell  in  his  favor,  for  the  work  was  then  fresh 
in  the  minds  of  the  novel  reading  public.  But 
Greeley  trusted  to  the  reputation  he  had  made 
among  the  yeomanry  as  the  editor  of  the  ^^JVeto 
YorJcef  and  the  ^^Log  Cahlny  The  reliance  that 
Greeley  always  placed  on  the  farming  community 
was  never  misplaced,  for  it  was  one  of  the  secrets 
of  the  great  success  of  the  weekly  edition  of  the 
Tribune.  Having  sprung  form  a  race  of  tillers  of 
the  soil  he  ever  recognized  the  solid  worth  of  their 
judgments.  The  suit  was  brought  to  trial  at  the 
December  Circuit,  1842,  before  Judge  Willard. 
During  Greeley's  attendance  at  the  court  in  Balls- 
ton  Spa,  he  had  his  quarters  at  a  boarding  house 
kept  by  the  late  Chester  Stebblns.  in  the  residence 
now  owned  by  Joseph  E.  Westcot  on  Front  street. 
Stebbins  had  been  jailor  under  Sheriff  Jennings, 
and  was  noted  for  his  influence  with  jurors. 
Although  an  ardent  democrat,  lie  had  conceived  a 
strong  attachment  fi  r  the  great  Whig  writer,  and 
doubtless  lost  no  opportunity  to  vent  his  opinion 
in  public  during  the  trial.  The  plaintift"  s  case  was 
opened  to  the  jury  in  a  methodic,  straight-forward 
manner  by  Richard  Cooper.  The  evidence  for  the 
plaintiff,  copies  of  the  Trihune  containing  the 
articles  offensive  to  the  Cooper  ej^es  and  ears,  was 
then  read  to  the  jury.     The  defendants  ofl:ered  no 


124  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

evidence  in  mitigation  of  damages.  But  Horace 
Greeley's  confidence  in  his  countrymen's  love  of 
justice  was  never  shaken  to  the  end  of  his  life; 
unless  it  might  have  been  in  that  sad  hour  when  his 
wearied  and  dazed  brain  gave  way  as  he  compre- 
hended the  duplicity  that  had  been  practiced  on 
him  when  he  was  a  candidate  for  the  highest  office 
iu  the  gift  of  the  people.  He  managed  the  case  of 
the  defendants  in  person,  and  appeared  in  the  trial 
without  the  aid  of  counsel.  He  opened  and  closed 
his  case  to  the  jury  in  a  speech  abounding  in 
earnest  arguments  disclaiming  the  intention  of  in- 
juring unnecessarily  the  reputation  of  Mr.  Cooper, 
and  pleading  the  paramount  duty  of  indepen- 
dent journalists  to  criticise  and  condemn  all  that 
was  censurable  as  being  detrimental  to  the  interests 
of  the  great  public,  let  the  consequences  be  wliat 
they  may.  His  earnest  manner,  the  quaint  drollery 
of  the  man,  and  his  appearance  before  the  jury 
made  him  many  friends  in  this  county,  even  among 
those  who  strongly  opposed  his  political  principles. 
The  great  novelist,  who  had  been  bred  to  the  bar, 
and  who  possessed  no  mean  oratorical  talents,  fol- 
lowed and  presented  his  case  to  the  jury  in  an 
address  full  of  glowing  periods,  and  triumphantly 
demanded  that  the  libellers  of  his  fair  fame  should 
be  mulcted  in  heavy  damages.  As  he  sat  down  the 
opinions  of  some  of  the  spectators  were  that  the 
"pioneer  author  of  American  fiction"  was  the  best 
abused  man  in  the  country,  and  that  Greeley  ami 
McElrath  were  the  most  unblushing  blackmailers 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  125 

on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Judge  Willard  charged 
the  jury  that  as  the  publication  of  the  alleged  libel- 
lous articles  was  proven,  it  was  their  province  to 
measure  the  damage  done  to  the  reputation  of  Mr. 
Cooper.  This  they  did  by  awardiiig  him  a  verdict 
for  $200  and  six  cents  cost.  This  was  regarded  in 
all  quarters  as  a  substantial  victory  for  the  great 
editor.  Mr.  Greeley' s  last  visit  to  Saratoga  county 
was  on  the  occasion  of  his  delivering  an  address 
before  the  Agricultural  Society  at  Saratoga  Springs 
in  September,  1869. 

No  one,  who  in  these  later  years  knows  the  ven- 
erable John  S.  Ford  of  Ballston  Spa,  and  sees  him 
to  be  a  plain,  easy  going  matter  of  fact  citizen, 
would  ever  dream  that  he  had  ever  been  the  cause, 
in  a  perfectly  innocent  way,  of  the  incorporation  of 
a  certain  section  in  the  present  constitution  of  this 
state.     That  he  was,  let  the  following  facts  demon 
strate.     Mr.    Ford  has  for  many  years  been   the 
owner  of  the  track  of  land  in  the  east  portion  of 
that  village  known  to  all  the  villagers  as  "Bona's 
woods."     Wishing  in  the  year  1840,  in  connection 
with  Thomas  J.  Porter  (who  was  a  joint  proprietor 
then  with  him  in  the  premises,)  to  improve  said  lot 
whicli  did  not  lay  upon  a  public   highway,  they 
sought  to  open  a  private  road  to  it  through  the 
adjoining  close   of  Tliomas   C.    Taylor.     Taylor's 
agent,  Thomas  G.  Young,   refused  to  grant  them 
the  coveted  privilege,  so  they  applied  to  the  high- 
way commissioners  of  the  town  of  Milton.     That 
nobody   entered  an  order  July  24,  1840,  granting 


126  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

them  the  proposed  relief.  Ford  and  Porter  then 
entered  on  the  hmds  of  Taylor  and  proceeded  to  lay 
out  the  proposed  private  road.  An  action  in  tres- 
pass was  commenced.  The  plaintiff  was  repre- 
sented by  Daniel  Lord,  Jr.,  and  George  G.  Scott 
was  defendants'  attorney.  To  defendants'  answer 
the  plaintiff  entered  a  demurrer  tha'  the  statute 
authorizing  the  laying  out  of  private  roads  was 
unconstitutional  and  void.  The  demurrer  was 
argued  before  the  Supreme  Court  at  Rochester,  in 
October  terui,  1842  by  George  H.  Mumford  of  Roch- 
ester, in  support,  and  Nicholas  Hill,  Jr.,  in  oppo- 
sition. Greatly  to  the  surprise  of  the  latter,  the 
unconstitutional  feature  was  sustained  by  Judges 
Bronson  and  Cowen.  Chief  Justice  Nelson  wrote 
a  dissenting  opinion  which  is  published  along  with 
the  opinion  of  the  court  (which  was  written  by 
Judge  Bronson)  in  4  Hill  140.  Judge  Nelson 
thought  if  it  was  by  an  oversight  not  a  part  of  the 
lex  scripta^  it  was  a  part  of  the  great  unwritten  law 
of  the  state.  He  emphatically  stated  that  ours  was 
the  only  state  in  the  union,  if  not  in  the  civilized 
world,  that  had  not  a  constitutional  piovislon 
authorizing  private  roads.  Judge  Nelson  was  one 
of  the  members  of  the  constitutional  convention  of 
1846,  and  in  that  body  took  an  early  occasion  to 
remedy  this  defect  in  the  constitution  of  1821,  by 
securing  the  adoption  of  the  seventh  section  of  the 
first  article  of  tlie  present  instrument,  from  which 
our  courts  derive  their  powers  to  adjudicate  the 
differences  of  citizens  relative  to  property.     It  dis- 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  127 

tinctly  points  oat  the  way  in  wliich  private  prop- 
erty can  be  taken  or  the  use  of  another  in  a  con- 
stitutional and  common  sense  manner  Thus,  while 
Ford's  woods  still  remain  in  their  oi'iginal  sylvan 
state,  his  name  should  be  linked  with  the  adoption 
of  this  constitutional  privilege,  which  is  of  so  fre- 
quent application  in  these  days  of  steam  and  pro- 
gress. The  case  was  tried  on  its  merits  at  the 
December  Circuit,  1844,  and  the  jury  assessed  the 
plaintiff's  damages  at  twenty  dollars.  A  subse- 
quent survey  showed  that  Taylor's  fence  was 
inaccurately  placed  upon  the  highway  line  and 
that  Ford  and  Porter's  land  had  a  frontage  on  the 
same  of  about  thirty  feet.  This  rendered  a  resort 
to  the  new  constitutional  provision  nugatory.  A 
feature  connected  with  this  case  may  be  cited  to 
illustrate  the  wide  difference  in  the  expense  of  liti- 
gation under  the  Code,  as  compared  with  that  under 
the  old  Common  Law  practice.  In  these  days  when 
we  read  of  fees  ranging  from  $500  to  $10,000  for 
arguing  a  case  before  the  Court  of  Appeals,  one 
may  well  be  astonished  to  learn  that  Mr.  Hill's  fee 
for  I  lie  argument  of  this  case  was  only  fioe  dollars. 
In  1841,  the  heirs  of  Peter  R.  Kissam,  by  John 
Krotherson,  their  attorne}^,  began  a  suit  in  eject- 
ment against  James  Jones  and  others  to  recover 
tvvo  eighty  acre  lots  in  the  fifth  allotment  of  the 
patent  of  Kayaderosseras,  and  lying  within  the 
bounds  of  the  present  town  of  Clifton  Park.  Kis- 
sam was  a  descendant  of  Peter  Rutger,  who  inher- 
ited the   estate  of  Adrian  Hooglandt,  one  of  the 


128  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

original  patentees,  and  succeeded  to  the  title  of  the 
lands  in  question  by  inheritance  from  him.     It  was 
alleged  that  Kissam  died  seized  of  the  title  and  that 
it  thereupon  descended  upon  to  the  present  plain- 
tifts.    The  suit  thus  brought  was  destined  to  occupy 
the  attention  of  the  Circuit  and  Supreme  Courts  and 
the  Court  of  Appeals  for  over  thirty  years.     The 
defendants  who  occupied  tie  premises  under  show 
of  title  from  Noah  Taylor,  made  a  vigorous  dt^fense 
of  their  rights,  as  they  claimed.     The  lots  in  ques- 
tion were  designated  as  "a"  and  "b."     The  vil- 
lage of  Jonesville  is  built  upon  the  former.     Upon 
the  first  trial,  before  Judge  Willard,  it  appearing 
that  the  defendant  had  been  in  possession  since 
1797,  a  nonsuit  was  entered.    The  higher  court  sent 
it  back  for  a  new  trial,  holding  that  a  jury   must 
pass  on  the  question  of  adverse  possession,  it  hiding 
a  question  of  fact.     In  184f),  Jones  having  sold  the 
premises  to  Elishci  G.  Shepherd,  each  of  the  heirs 
brought  a  new  suit  against  him.     We  will  follow 
the  history  of  that  in  which  Eliza  A.  Vrooman  was 
plaintiff,  as  giving  the  details  of  these  protracted 
suits.     Peter  R.  Kissaiudii^d  in  1799.     His  daugh- 
ter, Catharine,  married  Pliilip  Brotherson  in  1801, 
and  was  the  mother  of  the  claimants.     At  the  date 
of  her  marriage  she  was  under  twenty  one  years 
of  age.     She  died  in  1822,  and  Brotherson  in  1854. 
Taylor  had  purchased  the  lands  from  William  Bray 
ton  in  1797  and  sold  them  to  Jonps  about  1800,  and 
died  in  1802.     The  courts  hold  that  if  Taylor  did 
not  sell  until  after  September,  1801,  the  statue  of 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  129 

limitations  would  not  run  against  Mrs  Brothersou 
during  her  coverture,  and  that  her  husband  had  a 
life  estate  in  the  property.  After  his  death  other 
suits  were  brought,  making  nineteen  in  all,  each 
heir  claiming  1-100  of  the  lands  in  dispute.  Al- 
though the  defendants  and  their  ancestors  and  grant- 
ors had  been  in  possession  for  half  a  century  they 
were  liable  to  lose  their  land,  because  this  decision 
settled  that  a  wife' s  coverture  worked  against;adverse 
possession.  It  also  exploded  two  other  popular 
delusions :  viz.  that  a  party  must  have  a  deed  in 
order  to  secure  title  by  adverse  possession ;  and, 
also,  that  if  a  party  has  been  in  possession  for 
twenty  years  under  a  deed,  the  title  becomes  per- 
fect. Several  very  old  gentlemen  weie  sworn,  and 
their  recollections  as  to  the  Taylor- Jones  purchase 
were  very  conflicting.  With  such  evidence  three 
juries  found  in  favor  of  the  plaintiff.  Two  verdicts 
were  set  aside,  but  that  rendered  at  the  September 
Circuit,  1861,  was  sustained,  and  a  flnal  judgment 
was  entered  in  Saratoga  county,  Jul}^  12,  1875,  by 
a  remitiitiur  from  the  Court  of  Appeals,  awarding 
Mrs.Vrooman  $490  as  her  portion  of  the  value  of 
the  real  "estate  in  suit.  Shepherd  and  Mrs.  Vroo- 
man  are  both  dead,  and  proceedings  are  pending 
between  their  representatives  to  offset  Shepherd's 
costs  in  former  suits  against  her  judgment.  Suits 
brought  by  the  other  heirs  against  Shepherd  and 
Eliphalet  King  are  yet  pending  in  various  stages. 
Brayton'  s  title  on  which  the  defendants  relied  was 
founded  on  an   unrecorded  deed  from  Benjamin 


130  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

Kissam  to  liim,  dated  1794.    Benjamin  Kissam  was 
a  brother  of  Peter  R. ,  and  a  co-heir  in  the  estate. 
He  was  a  noted  New  York  lawyer  of  the  last  cen- 
tury.   Alexander  Hamilton  studied  law  in  his  office. 
He  was  an  ancestor  of  Gov.  Hoffman.     This  deed 
was  found  in  a  garret  in  Jonesville,  after  the  first 
suit,  and  the  plaintiffs  stoutly  maintained  that  it 
was  bogus,  for,  if  genuine,  it  was  fatal  to  their  case 
by  supplying  the  missing  color  of  title  on  which  to 
base  adverse  possession  in  the  defendants  in  the 
several  suits.     The  plaintiffs  were  represented  by 
John   Brotherson,    William   McMurray,   William 
Hay,  Daniel  Cady,  Azor  Tabor  and  other  distin- 
guished lawyers.     The  defendants  had  the  services 
of  Chesselden  Ellis,  David  Buel,  John  K.  Porter, 
I.  C.  Orrasl)y  and  Gen.  Bullard.     All  the  original 
parties  are  dead,  and  also  many  of  the  second  gen- 
eration ;  and  death  has  made  several  inroads  into 
the  list  of  counselors  engaged  in  it.     But  this  legal 
duel  of  over  thirty  years  duration  has  been  mainly 
conducted  by  Messrs.  Brotherson  and  Bullard. 

The  constitution  of  1846  having  dissolved  the  Cir- 
cuit Court  as  it  then  existed,  on  the  26th  of  May, 
1847,  Judge  Willard  dismissed  the  term,  and  Mr. 
Horton  made  the  following  entry  in  concluding  the 
minutes:  "Court  adjourned  sine  die.  The  last 
term  lield  under  the  old  constitution." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  SARATOGA  BAR  UNDER  THE  OLD  CONSTITUTION. 

The  officers  and  private  soldiers  of  the  famous 
Seventy-ninth  Regiment  Scotch  Highlanders  are 
wont  to  boast  that  though  they  may  not  individually 
have  performed  acts  of  valor  on  the  ensanguined 
field,  3^et  never  has  their  plaid  been  dishonored  in 
any  of  the  battles  of  the  last  two  centuries  where  it 
has  railed  to  the  charge  under  the  banner  of  St. 
George.  At  Fonteno3''  and  Blenheim,  on  the  Span- 
ish peninsula  and  at  Waterloo,  on  the  Crimea  and 
before  Lucknow  their  pibroch  sounded  the  blasts  of 
victory,  and  as  the  soldier  of  to-day  reads  the  tales 
of  the  brave  deeds  of  his  predecessors  under  the 
folds  of  the  regimental  colors  he  resolves  anew  to 
emulate  their  valor. 

So  should  the  present  members  of  the  Saratoga 
county  bar  as  they  read  the  life  stories  of  the  ear- 
nest men  of  by-gone  days  who  gave  to  it  a  state  and 
national  reputation  nerve  themselves  anew  to  devote 
their  whole  energie^  to  their  noble  profession.  As 
we  have  followed  the  histor}^  of  the  courts,  we  have 
read  the  nimes  of  the  intellectual  giants  who  have 
plead  at  its  bar.  Since  the  era  of  the  present  coiirt 
house  we  have  noted  the  distinguished  counselors 


13^  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR. 

who  have  appeared  on  the  minutes  in  connection 
with  trials  had  in  the  several  courts.  But  there 
still  remain  others  of  whom  our  county  should  be 
proud,  who  entered  upon  a  successful  practice  after 
an  admission  of  our  Common  Plea. 

By  the  rules  of  the  old  practice  attorneys'  clerks 
had  to  serve  a  full  apprenticeship  of  seven  years  to 
the  law  before  they  could  aspire  to  admission  to 
the  bar  of  the  Supreme  Court.  A  college  diploma 
was  afterwards  decreed  to  be  a  substitute  for  four 
years  of  this  course  of  study.  Those  who  did  not 
thus  take  the  classical  door  could  enter  the  forum 
through  a  term  of  five  years  served  in  practicing 
acceptedly  at  the  bar  of  Common  Pleas  until  they 
were  sufficiently  educated  in  the  law  to  entitle  them 
to  the  degree  of  attorney  and  counselor.  By  refer- 
ence to  the  roll  of  admission  of  attorneys  to  the 
Common  Pleas  bar  in  this  county  and  the  minutes 
of  the  several  courts  it  will  appear  that  in  the  first 
decade  after  the  building  of  the  court  house  in 
Ballston  Spa  the  leading  attorneys  were  Azariah 
W.  Odell,  Samuel  Young,  Alpheus  Goodrich, 
Oran  G.  Otis  and  Thomas  Palmer  of  Ballston  Spa  ; 
Richard  M.  Livingston  of  Schuylerville  ;  William 
L.  F.  Warren,  Aaron  Blake  and  Esek  Cowen  of 
Saratoga  Springs  ;  Joshua  Bloore,  Joshua  Mande- 
ville,  Nicholas  B.  Doe,  Geoi'ge  W.  Kirtland,  John 
L.  Viele,  Samuel  G  Huntington  and  the  Van 
Schoonhovens  of  VVaterford  ;  Wessell  Ganzevoort 
and  the  farmer  lawyers,  William  and  John  Met- 
calfj  of  Northumberland ;  and  George  Palmer  of 


OF   SAEATOGA  COUNTY.  133 

Stillwater.     At  the  January  Common  Pleas,  1823, 
on  motion  of  Mr.  Huntington,  William  Hay,  jr., 
of  Glen' s  Falls,  was  admitted  to  our  county  bar. 
He   subsequently   removed   to    Ballston   Spa  and 
afterwards  to  Saratoga  Springs,  where  he  took  and 
maintained  a  front  position  in  the  legal  profession. 
At  the  April  term,  1824,  Judiah  Ellsworth   and 
John  L.  Koon  took  the  oath  of  office  as  attorneys. 
Mr.  Koon  was  a  cousin  of  Dr.  Morgan  Lewis  of 
Ballston  Spa,  and  of  the  late  John  Lewis  of  Schuy- 
lerville.     He   was  famous  for  his  great  muscular 
strength.      He   had  an   office  for  some   j^ears   at 
Nassau,  and  was   district  attornej^  of  Rensselaer 
county  from  1836  to  1839.     He  afterwards  removed 
to  Albany,  where  he  practiced  law  until  his  death. 
Mr.  Ellsworth  was  a  successful  lawyer  at  Saratoga 
Springs  for  many  years  and  was  quite  noted  as  a 
whig  politician.     He   was  appointed  examiner  in 
chancery  in  1828  and  master  in  1832,  and  repre- 
sented the  second  district  of  this  county  in  the  leg- 
islature of  1860.     He  is  yet  a  hard  working  lawyer 
living  at  Luzerne,  Warren  county.     In  April,  1825, 
Tayler  Lewis  of  Fort  Miller  was  admitted.     From 
the  minutes  it  appears  he  soon  gained  a  good  prac- 
tice, which,  however,  he  relinquished  and  became 
Prof.  Lewis  of  Union  College.     The  law  lost  an 
able  and  eloquent  advocate  in  giving  to  the  field  of 
delles  letlres  the  first  American  Hebrew  scholai-  of 
the  age.     Michael  Hoffman,  the  Ajax  of  the  Her- 
kimer county  bar,  was  a  native  of  Halfmoon  and 
in  the  early  professional  career  practiced  in  this 
6* 


134  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

county.  Alvan  Worden,  of  Ontario  county,  was  a 
native  of  Milton.  After  an  admission  to  the  bar  in 
this  county  he  removed  to  the  western  part  of  the 
state,  where  he'  attained  popularity  and  fame.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  legislature  for  several  years, 
and  served  in  the  (constitutional  convention  of  1846. 
At  the  April  term,  1826,  Anson  Brown  and  Clark 
S.  Grinnell  were  sworn  as  attorneys.  iMr.  Brown 
entered  upon  a  good  practice  in  Ballston  Spa.  In 
1838,  he  was  selected  to  congress,  and  died  June 
14,  1840,  at  the  early  age  of  40  years.  Mr.  Grin- 
nell enjoyed  a  tine  field  for  practice  in  this  and 
Fulton  counties,  living  at  Northampton,  after  his 
removal  from  Piovidence.  The  name  of  Judge 
Deodatus  Wright  appears  as  his  having  been 
admitted  in  1827.  (I  learn,  incidentally,  that 
Judge  Wright  while  a  student  at  law  tried  a  cause 
in  the  old  court  house,  by  the  grace  of  the  court, 
previous  to  1816.)  While  living  in  Albany  he 
attained  a  wide  celebrity  both  as  a  jurist  and  an 
advocate.  Few  are  aware,  however,  that  he  was  a 
native  of  Charlton  in  this  county.  Chesselden 
Ellis  of  Waterford,  afterwards  member  of  congress, 
was  admitted  in  April,  1829,  and  Judge  Thomas  J. 
Marvin  in  August  of  that  j^ear.  At  the  April  term 
1830,  on  exhibition  of  their  certificates  from  the 
Supreme  Court  Nicholas  Hill,  jr.  and  John  W. 
Thompson  were  sworn  as  attorneys  in  this  county. 
Mr.  Hill  began  his  practice  at  .Amsterdam,  and 
soon  after  removed  to  Saratoga  Springs.  After 
several  years  he  established  himself  at  Albany  as 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  135 

a  member  of  the  eminent  legal  firm  of  Hill,  Cagger 
&  Porter.  Mr  Thompson  began  the  practice  of  the 
law  under  favorable  auspices.  He  was  surrogate 
of  th(^  county  for  tliirteen  years  from  1834.  For 
many  years  he  h  is  been  engaged  in  banking  as 
president  of  the  Ballston  Spa  National  Bank. 
Older  members  of  the  bar  and  other  citizens  of  the 
county  will  remember  the  eccentric  George  T. 
Wriglit,  "Orator,"  of  Clifton  Park,  who  was 
admitted  in  1831  on  proof  of  loss  of  his  certificate. 
Judge  John  A.  Corey  and  James  B.  McCrea  were 
received  at  the  bar  in  December,  1831,  and  Sey  ■ 
mour  St.  John,  afterwards  a  judge  of  Common 
Pleas,  in  April,  1832. 

On  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  August,  1833,  on 
report  from  his  examiners,  Messrs  Brown  and  Kirt- 
land,  William  Augustus  Beach  was  admitted  to 
practice  and  signed  the  roll  of  attorneys.  He  early 
took  a  front  position  at  the  bar  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  to  which  he  was  in  due  time  admitted,  and 
whether  as  a  member  of  the  successive  legal  firms 
of  Beach  &  Bockes,  Saratoga  Springs  ;  Beach  & 
Smith,  Troy  ;  or  Beach  &  Brown,  New  York,  he 
has  ever  been  considered  one  of  the  most  gifted  sons 
ol  Samtoga  county.  In  August,  1834,  Cicero  Love- 
ridge  and  Joseph  W.  Loomis  entered  the  forum. 
After  practicing  for  several  years  at  the  county  seat 
Loomis  removed  to  Syracuse.  In  April,  1834, 
Benjamin  H.  Austin  and  James  M.  Andrews  of 
Saratoga  Springs  were  admitted  after  due  examin- 
ation.    Mr.  Austin  removed   to  Buffalo,  but  Mr, 


136  THE   BET^CH   AND   BAR 

Andrews  remained  at  Saratoga  Springs,  leading  a 
rural  life  rather  than  one  of  devotion  to  his  early- 
profession.  At  the  December  term  of  the  same 
year,  George  G.  Scott  of  Ballston  Spa  was  admitted 
on  certificate  from  the  Supreme  Court.  He  served 
on  the  bench  of  Common  Pleas  from  1838  to  1841, 
when  he  resigned  and  resumed  to  the  practice  of 
his  profession,  which  he  as  since  continuously  fol- 
lowed. He  has  been  twice  member  of  assembly, 
has  served  one  term  in  the  state  senate  and  for  sev- 
enteen successive  years  has  been  supervisor  of  his 
native  town. 

In  December,  1836,  Sidney  J.  Cowen  and  Abel 
Meeker  were  examined  and  admitted  to  practice. 
Mr.  Cowen  was  a  young  man  of  signal  ability,  and 
his  early  death  robbed  the  bar  of  one  of  its  bright- 
est ornaments.  Mr.  Meeker  served  as  a  magistrate 
several  years  in  Ballston,  and  is  now  a  resident  of 
Rochester.  John  C.  Hulbert,  Richard  B,  Kimball 
and  Thomas  Rogers  also  sustained  a  good  exam- 
ination and  were  sworn  as  attorneys.  Hon.  Martin 
I.  Townsend  of  Troy,  made  his  first  appearance  in 
our  county  courts  at  the  same  term.  Mr.  Hulbert 
has  since  been  surrogate  and  county  judge,  and 
Mr.  Rogers,  (who  was  a  step- son  of  Judge  Cowen) 
took  a  prominent  position  at  the  Iowa  bar.  Mr. 
Kimball,  after  a  few  year's  practice  at  Waterford, 
removed  to  New  York  and  turned  his  thoughts  into 
the  more  congenial  field  of  literature.  Several 
excellent  novels  have  emanated  his  pen,  of  which 
•"St.    Leger"   is  the  most  generally  known  at  this 


OF   SAKATOGA   COUNTY.  '  137 

day.  His  brother,  Elijah  H.  Kimball,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  legal  lirm  of  Doe  &  Kimball  for  several 
years,  and  then  gravitated  to  the  metropolis  where 
he  took  quite  a  prominent  place  at  the  bar.  At  the 
August  Common  Pleas,  1888,  Cyrus  K.  Corliss  and 
Orville  J.  Harmon  took  the  official  oath.  Mr.  Har- 
mon has  since  bee.i  Recorder  of  the  city  of  Oswego. 
For  several  years  he  has  been  deeply  interested  in 
Sunday  school  work. 

At  the  April  terra,  1839, 'John  ,K.  Porter  and 
William  T.  Odell  presented  their  certificates  from 
the  Supreme  Court  and  were  admitted  in  Common 
Pleas.  Mr.  Porter  entered  immediately  on  a  lucra- 
tive practice  in  Waterford.  Several  years  later  he 
removed  to  Albany,  liaving  formed  a  law  partner- 
ship with  Nicholas  Hill,  jr.  and  Peter  Cagger. 
Having  twice  been  elevated  to  the  bench  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals  he,  in  each  instance,  resigned  his 
seat  and  returned  to  his  large  professional  duties. 
He  now  resides  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and,  as  a 
member  of  the  legal  firm  of  Porter,  Lowry,  Soren 
and  Stone,  his  clientage  is  probably  one  of  the  best 
in  the  country.  Perry  G  Ellsworth  was  admitted 
to  the  .bar  of  this  county  in  December,  1840.  A  few 
years  later  he  removed  to  Plattsburg,  where  he  was 
elected  county  judge  of  Clinton  county.  Subse- 
quently he  made -his  residence"in  Ithaca  and  has 
sii  ce  served  a  term  as  judge  of  Tompkins  county. 
Gen.  Edward  F.  BuUard's  experience  as  a  lawyer 
dates  back  to  April,  1841,  having  been  admitted  at 
the   same  time   with   Callender   Beecher,    Orviile 


138  THE   BENCH   AND   BAR 

Chittenden  and  William  T.  Seymour.  Mr.  Beeclier 
was  one  of  the  "Argonauts  of  '49,"  and  early  fell  a 
victim  to  tlie  malarial  fevers  of  Colifornia.  Another 
gifted  son  of  Saratoga  who  fell  a  victim  to  the  "Cali- 
fornia fever"  was  John  H.  Beach,  a  brother  of  Wil 
liam  A.  Beach.  He  died  in  San  Francisco  in  1850, 
and  his  remains  lie  in  the  Yerba  Buena  cemetery. 
He  was  a  young  man  of  excellent  talent.  Mr.  Chit- 
tenden has  since  served  one  term  as  surrogate  of 
Albany  county.  Mr.  Seymour  turned  his  attention 
to  banking  and  was  for  many  years  cashier  of  the 
Saratoga  County  Bank  at  Waterford.  He  was 
sheriff  of  this  county  in  1852-3.  At  the  August 
term,  1841,  Francis  S.  Waldron  of  Waterford  was 
admitted  to  practice.  He  formed  a  law  partner- 
ship with  John  K.  Porter  which  continued  until 
the  latter'  s^removal  to  Albany.  Mr.  Waldron  is  a 
gentleman  of  quiet  habits,  retiring  manners  and  of 
a  literary  turn  of  thought.  Possessed  of  a  fair  for- 
tune, he  devotes  his  time  rather  to  study  than  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  Nevertheless  he  has  a 
clientage  who  place  strong  reliance  on  the  sagacity 
and  soundness  of  his  counsel. 

Among  the  sons  of  Saratoga  county  w  ho  have 
gained  distinction  at  its  bar  and  conferred  renown 
on  it  in  return  is  Judge  Augustus  Bockes,  wJio  was 
admitted  after  examination  in  due  form  at  the 
April  term  of  Common  Pleas  in  1842.  Tlie  late 
Thomas  G.  Young,  and  Henry  W.  Merrill  of  Sara 
toga  Springs,  and  Stephen  P.  Nash,  now  ol'  New 
York  city,  were  admitted  in  August,  1842  ;  and  J. 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  139 

Oakley  Nodyne,  and  Jacob  W.  Miller  of  Cohoes 
signed  the  roll  in   December  of  that  year.     Mr. 
Nodyne  was  at  one  time  editor  of  the  Ballston 
Journal,    and   afterwards   removed  to  Brooklyn. 
Col.  Miller  established  an  office  in  Cohoes,  in  which 
tlie  author  served  his  clerkship.     He  was  a  man  of 
good  talents  and  was  deeply  read  in  the  law.     Col. 
Benjamin  C.  Butler  and  David  Maxwell  are  now 
popular  summer  resort  hotel  keepers  at   Luzerne 
and   Corinth,   N.   Y.,  yet,  nevertheless,   tliey  are 
both  entitled  to  practice  before  the  bar  of  justice  ; 
Butler  having  been  admitted  in  xlugust,   1843,  and 
Maxwell  in  December,  1845.     Aaron  B.  Olmstead 
of  Saratoga  Springs,  dates  his  legal  practice  from 
December,  1843,  and  the  late  Franklin  Hoag  of  Oil 
City,  Pa.,  and  Augustus  Haight,  now  of  Oshkosh, 
Wis.,  were  admitted  in  April,  1844.     The  late  John 
Lewis  of  Schuylerville,,  and  John  Brotherson  were 
admitted  to   the   Common   Pleas  in   April,  1845. 
The  latter  on  his  certificate  from  the  Supreme  Court, 
he  having  been  in  practice  for  several  years  previous 
in  Schenectady.     Since  that  date  he  has  made  his 
lionie  in  Ballston  Spa.     Mr.  Brotherson  enjoys  an 
equally  good  reputation  as  a  lawyer  and  a  fox- 
hunter— never  leaving  the  chase  until  the  brush 
adorns  his  game  pouch,  or  he  has  eftectually  holed 
liis  adversary. 

Major  Patrick  H.  Cowen  and  the  late  Hon.  John 
H.  White  of  Saratoga  Springs,  United  States  Com- 
missioner John  T.  Lamport  of  Troy,  and  the  late 
Samuel  H.  Cook  of  Ballston  Spa,  were  admitted  on 


140  THE   BENCH   AND   BAR 

the  report  of  the  examining  committee  in  Septem- 
ber, 1845.     Ex  speaker  Truman  G.  Yonnghjve  of 
Crescent,  was  made  an  attorney  at  law  in  April, 
1846  ;   and  on  examination  at  the  September  term 
of  that  year  Murray  Hubbard  of  Waterford,  and 
Nathan  J.  Johnson  of  Ballston  Spa,  were  admitted 
to  practice  in  Common  Pleas.     Mr.  Hubbard  prac- 
ticed law  for  several  years  successfully  in  CohoiiS, 
and  then  became  cashier  of  the  Cohoes  bank,  which 
position    he  yet  retains.     Mr.   Johnson  has  since 
been  a  professor  in  Fowler's  law  school  and  Judge 
of  Fulton  county.     He  served  gallantly  as  a  regi- 
mental and  brigade  commander  in  the  late  war,  as 
his  honorable  wounds  attest.     The  last  class  exam- 
ined and  admitted  was  in  the  December  Common 
Pleas,  1846.     It  consisted  of  Albert  A.  Moor,  John 
A.  Bryan,  William    E.  Castle,  Amos  S.  MaxA\ell, 
William  C.  Tibbetts,   Charles  R.  Sanders  and  Istiac 
C.    Ormsby.     Mr.    Moor   is   now   a  manufacturer 
living   in   Greenwich,    Washington  county ;  John 
A.  Brj^an  is  a  member  of  the  legal  firm  of  Therasson 
&  Bryan,  New  York  city;  William  E.  Castle  was 
a  cousin  of  Hon.   Wm.    A.    Beach,    and    is  since 
deceased;  as  is  also  William  C.  Tibbetts,  who  was 
a  son  of  the  late  Dr.  William  Tibbetts,  of  Mechan- 
icvill  e.    Mr.  Ormsby  is  the  present  district  attorney, 
whose  fitness  for  that  important  office  and  his  popu- 
larity are  attested   bj' his  ]-epeated  re  elections  by 
the  people. 

At  this  point,   it  is  proper  to   digress  from  the 
chronological    order  and  bear  testimony  to  the 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  141 

merits  of  a  son  of  Saratoga  and  a  talented  member 
of  our  early  bar.     Hon.  John  W.  Taylor  was  born 
in  Bal'ston,  (now  Charlton)  March  26,  1784.     He 
was  the  son  of  Judge  John  Taylor.     After  gradua- 
ting from  Union  college  in  1803,  he  studied  law  and 
established   an   office  in  connection    with  Samuel 
Cook  at  Court  House  hill  about  the  year  1806. 
They  afterwards  embarked  in  the  lumber  trade  and 
Mr.  Taylor  removed  to  Jessup'  s  Landing  in  Hadley, 
(now   Corinth)   to   superintend   the   business.     In 
1811,  he  was  elected  to  the  state  assembly  and  was 
re-elected  the  next  year.     In  the  fall  of  1812  he 
was  chosen  to  represent  the  eleventh  district  (Sara- 
toga county)  in  the  thirteenth  congress.     He  re- 
moved, soon  after,   back  to  his  former  residence, 
and  in  1819  to  the  house  now  occupied  by^  Justice 
John  Brown  in  Ballston  Spa.     He  v\ras  elected  to 
congress   for   ten  consecutive  terms.     Mr.  Taylor 
was  twice  chosen  speaker  of  the  house  of  represen- 
tatives ;  tirst  of  the  sixteenth  congress, in  1821, for  the 
second  session  to  succeed  Hon.  Henry  Cliy,  who 
had  resigned  his  seat ;    and,  again,   in  1825  of  the 
nineteenth  congress,  for  the  full  term.     In  1840  he 
was  chosen  state  senator  and  served  until  August 
19,    i-842,    when   he    resigned.      He   subsequently 
removed  to  Cleveland,   Ohio,   where  he  died  Sep- 
tember 18,  1854.     His  remains  are  interred  in  the 
cemetery  at  Ballston  Spa,  and  a  plain  slab,  mod- 
estly inscribed  with  his  name  and  dates  of  birth  and 
death,  marks  the  last  resting  place  of  the  venerable 
statesman,  who  was  the  only  citizen  of  New  York 


142  THE  BENCH   AZvD   BAR 

who  ever  held  the  third  plac«  in  our  gOTemment. 
The  interests  of  non-resident  clients  drew  to  the 
courts  of  our  county  the  legal  talent  of  the  other 
counties  of  this  state.     In  addition  to  those  men- 
tioned in  the  preceding  chapters  in  connection  with 
the  suits  in  which  they  appeared,  the  following 
gentlemen  may  be  mentioned,  many  of  whom  gained 
a  world-wide  celebrity  at  the  bar.  and  others  who 
have  sat  on  the  bench  and  administered  justice  un- 
der the  laws  with  credit  to  themselves  and  signal 
honor  to  th«'  state.    From  Albany  came  Joseph  W. 
Paddock.  James  Edwards.  Israel  Williams,  Henry 
C.  Whelpley.  and  Bradford  R.  Wood ;    Schenec- 
tady sent  Edward  Yates.  Archibald  L.  Linn.  Ste- 
phen A.  Daggett,  Alex.  C.  Gibson  and  Demetrius 
M.  Chadsey :    Rensselaer  county  sent  from  Troy 
Job  Pierson.   David  L.  Seymour.  Judge  George 
Gould,  Cornelius  L.  Tracy,   Gardner  Stow.  Fran- 
cis ]^.  Maun  and  Enoch   H.   Rosekrans      Judge 
Stow  was  a  native  of  Moreau.  and  with  Dr.  Billy 
J.  Clark  and  R«-v.  Lebbeus  Armstrong  formed  the 
first  temperance  society  in  this  county.     He  was 
some  time  district  attorney  of  E«sex  county,  and 
afterwards  removtrd  to  Troy.     He  was  appointed 
attorney-  general  in  1853.  by  Gov.  Seymour.     The 
two  latter  ar*-  natives  of  this  county  ;  the  former  of 
Milton  and  the  latter  of  Halfmoc»n.     Judge  Rose- 
krans subsequently  removed  to  Glen*  s  Falls,  whence, 
also  came  Ira  A.  Paddo<-k,  Halsey  R.  Wing.  Isaac 
Mott  and  Orange  Ferriss.     From  Chester.  Warren 
county,  came^Norman  Fox,  who  afterwards  entered 


OF   SABATOGA   COUXTY.  143 

the  ministry  and  was  for  many  years  pastor  of  the 
Baptist  church  at  Ballston  Spa.  From  Amsterdam 
came  Clark  B.  Cochrane  and  David  P.  Corey  ;  from 
Sandy  Hill,  Roswell  Weston,  Joseph  B.  Lathrop, 
Orville  Clark,  Charles  Hughes  and  Henry  B.  Nor- 
throp :  from  Johnstown,  James  McNeice,  Dnncan 
Mc^Iartin,  Mclutyre  Fraser  and  Horace  E.  Smith  ; 
from  Poughkeepsie,  Richard  D.  Davis  and  John 
Y.  N.  Radcliffe ;  from  Rochester,  Judge  Samuel 
L.  Selden,  George  G.  Munger  and  Nathaniel  Bacon. 
Judge  Bacon  was  a  native  of  Ballston.  He  ulti 
mately  removed  to  Niles,  Michigan,  where  he 
ranked  as  an  able  jurist.  Dudley  Burwell  of  Little 
Falls  (who  married  the  eldest  daughter  of  Colonel 
Samuel  Young,  and  is  but  recently  deceased),  Mar- 
oellus  Weston  of  Broadalbin,  John  C.  Spencer  of 
Canandaigua,  John  Cochi-ane  and  Erastus  Benedict 
of  New  York,  also  were  among  those  who  have 
stood  before  juries  of  Saratoga  county  under  the 
old  constitution  and  presented  their  client' s  cases 
with  all  their  powers  of  eloquence,  argument  and 
casuistry. 

With  this  chapter  closes  the  history  of  our  courts 
under  the  old  constitution.  The  old  practice  with 
its  interminable  inventory  of  pleadings  from  the 
declaration  to  the  surrebutter,  its  legal  fictions  and 
feigned  issues,  passed  away  July  1,  1848.  and  the 
imagined  simpler  forms  of  the  ''Pleadings  under 
the  Code  of  Procedure' '  took  its  place.  Wher-in 
is  the  improvement  will  be  better  told  in  the  twen- 
tieth century,  by  which  time  the  successive  legisla- 


144  THE  BENCH  AND  BAE. 

tures  will  have  amended  the  "perfect  code,"  until 
it  will  resemble  the  wonderful  pair  of  stockings, 
which  the  old  lady  made  to  serve  her  husband  for 
fifteen  years  by  knitting  new  feet  every  spring  and 
new  legs  every  other  winter. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

CRIMINAL  TRIALS   UNDER  THE  PRESENT  CONSTITU- 
TION. 

The  legislature  acting  under  the  provisions  of  the 
new  constitution  passed  an  act  May  12,  1847,  pro- 
viding for'  the  several  courts,  civil  and  criminal. 
First,  theie  was  to  be  the  Court  of  Impeachment, 
consisting  of  the  Lieutenant  Governor,  state  senate 
and  Judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals.  Secondly, 
there  was  created  the  Court  of  Appeals,  consisting 
of  four  judges  to  be  elected  by  the  people  and  four 
judges  designated  from  the  justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  Thirdly,  the  Supreme  and  Circuit  Courts, 
to  be  held  by  the  thirty-three  justices  of  the  Su- 
preme Court.  Fourthly  the  County  Court,  to  be 
held  by  the  county  judge.  Fifthly,  the  Court  of 
Oyer  and  Terminer  to  be  held  at  the  times  appointed 
for  holding  Circuits,  by  thepresiding  justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  with  the  county  judge  and  two 
justices  of  the  peace  designated  by  the  people  at 
the  annual  elections  to  hold  Courts  of  Sessions. 
Sixthly,  the  Courts  of  Sessions  to  be  held  at  the 
same  times  designated  for  holding  County  Courts, 
by  the  county  judge  and  justices  of  sessions.  The 
new  Criminal  Courts  succeeded  to  the  powers  and 
duties  of  their  respective  predecessors,  with  the 
7 


146  THE   BENCH   AND   BAR 

right  of  appeal  from  their  judgments  first  to  the 
Supreme  Court  at  General  Term,  and  ultimately  to 
the  Court  of  Appeals,  by  bills  of  exceptions,  writs 
of  error,  or  certiorari.  The  jurisdictions  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  Supreme,  Circuit  and  County 
Courts  will  be  noticed  in  the  succeeding  chapter 
devoted  to  civil  causes  tried  in  our  county. 

Hon.    Augustus   Bockes    of  Saratoga   Springs, 
having  been  elected  county  judge  at  the  special 
election  held  June  7, 1847,  to  elect  the  new  judiciary 
of  the  state,  the  first  County  Court  and   Court  of 
Sessions  was  held  by  appointment  September  20, 
of  that  year,  with  justices  William  T.  Seymour  and 
Abel  A.  Kellogg  assisting  in  the  latter.     John  Law- 
rence, the  newly  elected  district  attorney,  appeared 
as  public  prosecutor.     No  criminal  trials  were  held 
at  this  term.     Neither  were  there  any  had  at  the 
first  Oyer  and  Terminer  held  by  Justice  AlonzoC. 
Paige,  County  Judge  Bockes  and  Justice  of  the  Ses- 
sions Seymour,  in  November  following  ;  or,  at  any 
of  the  succeeding  terms  of  these  courts  until  the 
August  Oyer,  1848.     'J'his  term  was  presided  over 
by  Hon.   John   Willard,   who  had  been  elected  a 
justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  for  the  Fourth   dis- 
trict, along  with  Daniel  Cady,  Alonzo  C.  Paige  and 
Augustus  C.  Hand.     Thomas  Hynde  was  brought 
to  trial  for  arson  in  tlie  second  degree  for  setting 
fire  to  and  burning  the  cotton  mill  of  James  V. 
Bradshaw,  on  the  Anthony's  kil,  near  Mechanic- 
ville.     District  Attorney   Lawrence   appeared  for 
the  people,  and  Messrs.  Amos  K.  Hadley  and  W. 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  147 

H.  King,  of  Troy  ;  Deodatiis  Wright,  of  Albany ; 
and  G.  W.  Kirtland,  of  Waterford,  for  the  prisoner. 
It  was  a  case  of  circumstantial  evidence  against  the 
prisoner,  who  was  a  discliarged  employee.  He 
succeeded  in  proving  a  satisfactory  alihl,  and  was 
acquitted.  At  the  February  O^^er,  1849,  the  Water- 
ford  and  Whitehall  Turnpike  Company  was  in- 
dicted and  convicted  for  maintaining  a  common 
and  public  nuisance.  The  conviction  was  affirmed 
by  tlie  Supreme  Court,  and  its  opinion  is  reported 
in  9  Barhour  160.  This  company  was  subse- 
quently indicted  for  the  same  oftense  by  several 
grand  juries,  but  continued  to  neglect  to  observe 
the  statute  in  all  respects,  except  the  collection  of 
tolls,  until  in  1863  a  mob  tore  down  their  remain- 
ing toll  gate,  near  Waterford,  and  then  it  yielded 
its  ghost  of  a  claim  to  exact  taxes  from  wayfarers 
for  passing  over  a  highway  they  entirely  neglected 
to  keep  in  proper  repair.  In  its  later  years  it  was 
known  as  the  Stillwater  and  Waterford  turnpike. 

The  October  term  of  that  year  was  held  by  Jus- 
tice Amasa  J.  Parker  of  Albany.  The  Talmadge 
murder  trial  next  in  the  chronological  order, 
demands  our  attention.  John  Talmadge  in  May, 
1849,  and  for  several  years  previously  Owned  a 
farm  in  Malta  ;  the  Round  Lake  Camp  Ground 
Association  now  owning  a  portion  of  said  farm.  A 
highway  from  Maltaville  to  the  East  Line  pass- 
ed through  his  farm  and  by  his  residence,  inter- 
secting the  Rensselaer  &  Saratoga  railroad  about 
twenty  rods  north  of  the  house.     The  railroad  ran 


148  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

through  the  length  of  his  farm,  and  a  previous 
owner  had  agreed  with  the  original  directors  to 
build  the  fences  along  the  track,  in  perpetuity. 
This  obligation  Mr.  Talinadge  resisted,  and  the 
courts  subsequently  upheld  the  position  taken  by 
him.  (The  legislature  passed  an  act  March  27,  1848, 
directing  that  all  railroad  companies  should  fence 
their  tracks  and  maintain  cattle  guards  at  the  high- 
w^ay  crossings.  In  the  Saratoga  county  court  in 
1849,  Judge  Bockes  held  in  the  case  of  Waldron 
against  the  Rensselaer  &  Saratoga  railroad,  re- 
ported in  7  Barhour  390,  that  said  act  was  not 
inconsistent  with  existing  charters,  and  that  rail- 
road companies  were  liable  for  cattle  killed  by  their 
locomotives  where  they  had  entered  upon  the  track 
by  reason  of  the  failure  of  the  company  to  comply 
with  this  law.  This  principle  was  confirmed  in  the 
Supreme  Court  in  1850.)  His  cattle  wandei-ed  on 
the  railroad,  through  the  fences,  which  neither  party 
would  repair,  and  were  killed  by  the  locomotive. 
He  brought  suit  and  recovered  judgments  for  their 
value.  This  naturally  led  to  acrimonious  dis- 
putes between  him  and  Leonard  R.  Sargent,  super- 
intendent, and  Asher  Young,  track  master  of  the 
railroad.  Such  was  the  state  of  affairs,  when  on 
the  morning  of  May  22,  1849,  a  locomotive  attached 
to  a  northern  bound  train  ran  off  the  track  at  Tal- 
madge's  crossing.  The  engineer,  William  L. 
Dodge,  of  Green  Island,  sustained  injuries  to  his 
head,  wlii(;h  caused  his  death,  at  the  residence  of 
his  uncle,  David  Cory  in  Ballston  Spa,   June  1. 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  149 

The  cause  of  the  accident  was  at  oace  attributed  to 
the  owner  of  the  farm  by  one  Joseph  Phayre,  a 
former  laborer  for  Talmadge,  but  who  had  been 
discharged  by  him.  He  told  Young  that  Talmadge 
had  threatened  to  run  the  cars  off  the  track.  On 
his  oath  and  other  circumstances  surrounding  the 
case,  Talmadge  was  indicted  for  the  murder  of 
Dodge  at  the  August  Oyer,  1849.  He  was  brought 
to  trial  the  following  December  before  Hon.  William 
B.  Wright,  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
third  judicial  district ;  Judge  Bockes  and  justices 
Kellogg  and  Seymour.  District  Attorney  Lawrence 
was  assisted  in  the  prosecution  by  Henry  G.  Whea- 
ton  and  William  A.  Beach.  George  G.  Scott 
prepared  the  defense,  and  was  assisted  at  the  trial 
by  James  B.  McKean,  William  Hay,  John  K.  Por- 
ter and  Nicholas  Hill,  jr.  So  great  an  array  of 
legal  talent  is  seldom  gathered  in  a  court  house  to 
conduct  a  trial,  even  when  the  momentous  issue  of 
life  and  death  is  pending.  After  an  exhausting 
search  a  jury  was  impanneled.  The  witnesses 
sworn  for  the  people  were  L,  R.  Sargent,  Thomas 
Collins,  George  Balfrey,  William  B.  Harris,  James 
Swartwout  and  Joseph  Phayre.  The  important  wit- 
ness was  Balfry,  who  testified  that  he  had  landed 
in  Quebec  on  a  certain  day  and  was  on  hi^  way  to 
Troy  in  search  of  work.  On  the  twenty-second  day 
of  May,  1849,  he  was  walking  on  the  railroad  near 
Talmadge' s  crossing,  and  feeling  tired, had  sat  down 
in  a  clump  of  bushes  to  rest.  While  there  he  saw 
Talmadge  drive  a  stone  into  the  space  allotted  for 


150  THE  BENCH  AND   BAR 

the  flange  of  the  wheel  between  the  rail  and  the 
planks  in  the  crossing.  Before  he  could  give  the 
alarm  the  accident  happened.  This  made  a  direct 
case  for  the  plaintiff,  it  being  supplemented  by  the 
testimony  of  Phayre  that  he  saw  Balfrey  on  the 
track  near  East  Line  on  the  day  in  question. 
But  Judge  Scott  had  been  indefatigable  in  his 
efibrts  to  save  Talmadge  from  his  perjured  accusers. 
During  the  time  that  had  elapsed  after  the  sitting 
of  the  grand  jury,  he  had  been  to  Quebec,  and 
ascertained  at  the  quarantine  that  no  such  person 
as  Balfrey  had  landed  there  at  the  time  specifled. 
He  then  went  to  New  York  and  found  that  a  man 
of  his  personal  statistics  had  landed  at  Castle  Gar- 
den three  days  after  the  accident.  He  traced  him 
to  Albany,  and  there  found  him  in  communication 
with  Phayre.  He  had  tlie  evidence  in  court  to 
establish  that  this  was  one  of  the  most  glaring 
attempts  to  secure  a  judicial  murder  by  perjury 
that  ever  disgraced  a  calendar,  not  excepting  the 
trials  of  the  Irish  rebellion  cases  of  '98.  To  the 
credit  of  Messrs.  Lawrence,  Wheaton  and  Pencil, 
it  should  be  stated  that  as  soon  as  they  became  con- 
vinced of  this  during  the  cross  examinatioi  of 
Phayre  by  Mr.  Porter,  they  refused  to  be  parti(\s  to 
the  infamous  outrage  on  a  citizen  of  hitbeito  un- 
blemished reputation.  The  following  is  the  entry 
on  the  minutes:  ''The  counsel  for  the  i)eople 
having  abandoned  the  prosecution,  the  jury  under 
the  charge  of  the  court,  without  retiring,  sa}'  that 
they  find  the  prisoner  not  guilty."     This  was  done 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  151 

amid  the  plaudits  of  the  large  audience  which  was 
not  restrained  by  the  court  for  some  minutes.  Judge 
Scott,  also,  had  evidence  at  hand  to  prove  a  com- 
plete alibi. 

District  Attorney  Lawrence  immediately  ordered 
the  arr'-st  of  the  perjured  Balfrey,  alias  Parker, 
and  Phayre.  They  were  indicted  in  February,  and 
at  the  October  Oyer,  1850,  Parker  plead  guilty  and 
acknowledged  that  he  was  suborned  by  Phayre  and 
Asher  Young.  Phayre  plead  not  guilty,  but  was 
convicted.  They  were  each  sentenced  by  Judge 
Paige  to  ten  years  at  Dannemora.  Young,  fearing 
a  trial  and  conviction  for  subornation  of  perjury  on 
the  confession  of  Balfrey,  committed  suicide  by 
getting  on  a  hand  car  at  East  Line,  September  10, 
and  running  it  toward  Ballston  Spa  in  front  of  an 
approaching  train.  He  was  struck  and  killed 
instantly.  Dodge,  the  dying  engineer,  stated  that 
the  accident  was  owing  to  the  speed  at  which  he 
was  running  the  engine  at  the  time,  causing  it  to 
bound  on  the  track.  The  locomotive  was  after- 
wards named  the  "Wm.  L.  Dodge"  and  ran  on  the 
road  for  many  years.  Mr,  Talmadge  was  nearly 
ruined,  financially,  by  this  dastardly  attempt  on 
his  life,  but  is  now  a  prosperous  manufacturer  of 
chemicals  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

John  S.  Clarke,  the  counterfeiter,  was  again 
indicted  in  1849,  but  as  before  escaped  convi  vtion, 
by  some  undefined  process  ;  but  at  the  June  Oyer, 
1851,  before  Judge  Hand,  Luther  Cole,  one  of  his 
pupils,  was  convicted  and  sent  to  stated  prison  for 


152  THE   BENCH   AND   BAR 

a  term  of  five  years.  Suffering-,  as  did  several 
other  young  men,  for  an  alleged  association  with 
this  slippery  manufticture  and  wlioiesale  dealer  in 
the  "queer." 

At  the  June  Oy^  1850,  an  individual  who  liad 
stolen  a  pony  team,  wagon  and  har.iess  from  Wil- 
liam H.  Wendell  in  Ballston  Spa  in  the  autumn  of 
1848,  was  brought  to  trial.  He  was  arrested  with 
the  team  near  Kingston,  N.  Y.  He  gave  only  the 
name  of  "Unfortunate  Johnny."  So  he  was  in- 
dicted and  convicted,  on  a  plea  of  guilty,  under  the 
alias  of  "John  Misfortune."  Judge  Hand  admin- 
istered to  him  alive  year's  sentence  to  states  piison, 
with  the  advice  to  never  again  disgrace  the  name 
he  had  so  effectually  endeavored  to  conce  al.  Other 
and  unimportant  trials  occupied  the  attention  of 
the  criminal  courts  until  in  1854,  wlien  District 
Attorney  William  T.  Odell  secured  the  indictment 
of  Henry  J.  Chandler  for  the  murder  of  John  Hall 
at  Saratoga  Springs,  January  31,  by  stabbing  him 
with  a  knife.  He  plead  guilty  to  manslaughter  in 
the  first  degree  at  the  June  Oyer.  Th(^  plea  was 
accepted,and  Judge  Had  senntenced  him  to  a  fifteen 
years  term  in  states  prison. 

Nearly  all  of  my  readers  will  remember  the  case 
of  Sol  Northrup,  a  colored  man,  whos<^  kidnap- 
ping from  Saratoga  Springs,  March  10,  1840,  his 
sale  in  the  slave  pen  at  Alexandria,  Va.,  and  his 
twelve  weary  years  in  bondage  in  Avoyelles  parish, 
Louisianaj  are  graphicall}'  described  in  his  book, 
"Twelve  Years  a  S'ave."     In  the  summer  of  1854, 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  153 

Alexander  Merrill  and  Joseph  Russell  were  arrest- 
at  Gfloversville  and  coafronted  with  Northrup,  who 
had  recently  been  released  through  the  etibrts  of 
Hon.  Charles  Hughes  and  Heury  B.  JNorthrup  of 
Sandy  Hill.  They  were  indicted  by  our  grand  jury 
in  October,  1854.  Their  counsel,  Messrs.  John  S. 
Enos,  William  Wait,  Clark  B.  Cochrane  and  Wil- 
liam A.  Beach,  interposed  a  demurrer  to  those 
counts  in  the  indictment  which  alleged  the  selling  of 
Northrup  as  a  slave,  as  having  occurred  at  a  place 
foreign  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  state.  The  demur- 
rer was  sustained  by  the  General  Term,  which  held 
by  Judge  C.  L.  Allen,  that  to  attempt  to  give  the 
state  jurisdiction  on  those  counts  was  repugnant  to 
the  sixth  amendment  to  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States.  This  decision  is  reported  in  2  Par- 
Jcefs  Crlmlual  Heports,  590.  This  narrowed  the 
the  issue  down  to  the  kidnapping  charge,  but,  be- 
fore the  indictment  was  brought  to  trial,  JNorthrup 
again  disappeared.  What  his  fate  was  is  unknown 
to  the  public,  but  the  desperate  kidnappers  no 
doubt  knew.  A  nolle  pros,  was  entered  in  their 
case  in  May,  1857,  by  District  Attorney  John  O. 
Mott. 

The  Court  of  Sessions  had  had  plenty  of  business 
sent  to  it  from  the  Oyer  and  Terminer  for  several 
years,  about  this  time,  by  nuu;erous  indictments 
being  found  by  the  grand  jury,  through  the  eltbrts 
of  the  Carson  League,  to  destroy  the  trade  in  ardent 
liquors.  The  so-called  "  Maine  Law,"  which  took 
etfect  July  4,  1855,  led  to  an  increased  ettbrt  to 


154  THE   BENCH   AND   BAR 

suppress  tlin  sale  of  intoxicating  drinks.  The  con- 
stitutionality of  this  law  was  attacked  by  liquor 
dealers.  It  was  sustained  by  the  Supreme  Court 
at  several  General  Terms,  noticeably  at  that  held  in 
our  court  house  in  December,  1855,  by  Justices 
Allen,  James  and  Bockes.  One  Frank  Quant  came 
into  court,  on  a  writ  of  error  from  the  Montgomery 
county  Special  Sessions,  appealing  from  a  convic- 
tion. The  court  affirmed  the  constitutionality  of 
the  law,  and  the  opinion  of  Judge  James  is  given 
in  2  Farlxer^  410.  The  principle  was  reversed  and 
the  law  annulled  by  the  decision  of  the  Court  of 
Appeals  in  the  "People  agst.  Wynehamer,"  ihld 
421,  and  "  Peoj>le  agst.  Toynbee,"  /^/^  491. 

Hon.  Augustus  Bockes  having  resigned  the  office 
of  county  j  udge.  Gov.  Seymour,  February  (i,  1854, 
appointed  John  A.  Corey  of  Saratoga  Springs  to 
fill  the  unexpired  term.  In  the  November  following, 
James  B.  McKean  of  the  same  town  was  elected  to 
succeed  him.  At  the  first  Oyer  held  in  this  county 
by  Justice  Bockes,  in  October.  1855,  an  indictment 
was  found  by  the  grand  jury  against  Joseph  Glas- 
ser,  charging  him  with  the  wilful  murder  of  Patrick 
H.  Broen,  at  Gal  way,  August  24,  1855.  This  homo- 
cide  grew  out  of  a  charavari  party.  Several  young 
men  had  serenaded,  a  newly  married  couple  and, 
at  the  instigation  of  one  E.  O.  Smith,  the  bride's 
mother  had  caused  their_arrest.  This  angered  them 
and  they  foolishly  determined  to  burn  Smith  in 
effigy,  on  the  public  square,  at  midnight  of  August 
24.     They  met  on  the  night  in  question  in  the  barn 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  155 

of  the  elder  Breen.  While  preparing  the  ef^gy  a 
man  was  seen  in  the  garden,  as  if  watching  them. 
Young  Breen  went  out,  wias/ied,  to  see  wlio  it  was, 
when  the  man  presented  a  pistol  and  tired  at  him. 
Breen  fell,  mortally  wounded  (the  ball  entering  his 
left  breast  and  lodging  in  his  spine),  and  cried  out 
"  JoeGlasser  has  shot  me."  The  man  tied  through 
the  darkness,  but  was  recognized  by  several  of  the 
young  men.  He  was  arrested  the  same  night  at 
his  residence.  He  was  tried  at  a  special  term  of 
the  Oyer  and  Terminer,  which  commenced  Febru- 
ury  24,  1856,  just  six  months  after  the  tragedy. 
Justice  C.  L.  Allen  presided,  with  County  Judge 
McKean  and  Justices  of  Sessions  A.  E.  Brown  and 
A.  Hannay  on  the  bench.  District  Attorney  Odell 
and  Hon.  Lyman  Tremain  conducted  the  prosecu- 
tion, it  being  the  latter  gentleman' s  lirst  appearance 
in  our  courts.  The  prisoner  was  defended  by  Geo. 
G.  Scott,  E.  F.  BuUard,  and  Deodatus  Wright.  It 
was  shown  on  the  trial  that  Breen  and  Glasser  had 
previously  been  friendly,  that  the  latter  had  exhib- 
ited no  malice  toward  him,  and  though  it  was  urged 
that  he  had  been  hired  to  shoot  another  of  the  mas- 
queraders,  it  was  not  susceptible  of  direct  proof,  so 
the  tiial  resulted  in  a  verdict  of  manslaughter  in 
the  second  degree.  He  was  sentenced  to  states 
prison  for  a  term  of  four  years  and  six  months. 
This  result  caused  much  excitement  in  Galway, 
and  E.  O.  Smith  was  forced  to  yield  to  public  sen- 
timent and  remove  to  the  West. 

Justice  Enoch  H.  Rosekrans  held  his  first  court 


156  THE   BENCH   AND   BAR. 

in  this  county  in  September,  1856.  A.t  that  Oyer, 
James  M.  Quillot  of  Mechanicville  was  indicted  for 
uttering  counterfeit  meney.  He  was  ostensibly  a 
merchant  tailor,  but  bore  the  reputation  of  being- 
one  of  the  most  expert  forgers  of  the  signatures  of 
bank  officers  in  his  day.  He  was  too  shrewd  to 
expose  himself  to  conviction,  and  escaped  punish- 
ment for  his  alleged  crimes  through  the  technicali- 
ties of  the  law.  Justice  Piatt  Potter  held  his  first 
term  in  this  county  in  January,  1859.  At  the  May 
Oyer,  1859,  the  grand  jury  presented  the  dogs  of 
the  county  as  a  public  nuisance  Their  action  was, 
however,  ineffectual,  for  the  nuisance  remains  un- 
abated. 

At  the  February  Sessions,  1857,  before  Judge 
McKean,  Patrick  McKinney  was  convicted  of  per- 
jury in  a  suit  tried  before  Justice  John  Cramer,  2d, 
in  AVaterford,  August  26,  1856,  in  which  Patrick 
Larkin  was  plaintiff  and  Piatt  R.  Doughty  was 
defendant.  The  alleged  perjury  was  his  testimony 
that  he  was  present  when  Larkin  bought  twenty 
lambs  of  Doughty,  for  which  he  was  to  pay  $44, 
that  four  of  them  were  then  delivered  to  Larkin, 
and  the  balance  were  to  be  taken  when  he  (Larkin) 
called  for  them.  Although  it  was  otherwise  suffi- 
ciently proved  that  the  price  and  terms  were  as  he 
testified,  it  appeared  that  he  was  not  present  when 
the  bargain  was  made.  Upon  this  proof  Judge 
McKean  charged  the  jury  that  if  the  prisoner  did 
not  know  the  truth  of  his  evidence  of  his  own 
knowledge,  although  it  might  be  true,  if  it  was 


OF   SAEATOGA   COUNTY.  167 

wilfully  and  corruptly  given  to  affect  the  result  of 
the  action  pending,  it  was  perjury.  He  was  con- 
victed, and  a  writ  of  error  was  taken  to  the  Supreme 
court,  where  it  was  argued  for  the  prisoner  by 
William  A.  Beach,  and  for  the  people  by  District 
Attorney  Mott.  The  conviction  was  affirmed,  and 
Mc  Kinney  was  sentenced  to  states  prison  for  two 
years.     The  case  is  reported  in  3  Farker  510. 

In  the  June  Sessions,  1858,  Daniel  O'Leary  was 
tried  and  convicted  on  an  indictment  charging  him 
with  an  assault  with  intent  to  kill  Avith  a  deadly 
weapon  Margaret  Collins,  at  Waterford,  September 
22,  1857.  Isaac  C.  Ormsby,  his  attorney,  removed 
the  case  to  the  Supreme  Court  on  i  v/rit  of  error  in 
which  he  insisted  that  it  was  necessary  to  prove  an 
assault  and  batter}^  and  an  intent  to  kill  with  a 
deadly  weapon ;  that  the  verdict  of  the  jury,  as 
rendered,  to  wit :  "The  jury  find  the  prisoner 
guilty  of  an  assault  and  battery  with  intent  to  kill," 
was  a  special  one,  and  not  in  accordance  with  the 
indictment ;  nor  was  it  a  conviction  of  a  crime 
either  against  the  statute  or  the  common  law. 
He  also  insisted  that  the  prisoner  was  entitled  to  a 
discharge,  having  once  been  legally  tried  for  his 
offense.  ^  The  district  attorney  resisted,  but  the 
court  held  that  it  was  a  special  verdict.  A  general 
v(^rdict  of  "guilty"  would  have  been  sufficient,  but 
when  the  jury  went  further  and  sought  to  convict 
him  of  an  otfenct;  not  laid  down  in  the  statute,  nor 
held  at  common  law,  the  prisoner  was  in  effect 
acquitted;  anditdirected  his  discharge."  This  case, 


158  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

• 

reported  in  4  Parker  155,  should  teach  jurymen 
to  be  cautious  in  attempting  to  word  their  verdicts 
specially,  when  th(iy  intend  to  convict  on  the  direct 
offense  charged  in  the  indictment. 

At   the   September   Oyer,    1859,    before    justice 
Henry  E.  Davies,  of  the  rirst  district,  a  New  York 
pickpocket  who  gave  the  name  of  John  Thomas, 
was  tried  and  convicted  of  liaving  robbed  the  per- 
son of  Mrs.  Margaret  P.  Millard  at  Saratoga  Springs, 
July  22,  1858,  of  property  valued  at  $1,935.     He 
was  sent  to  Dannemora  for  five  years.     After  he 
had  served  his  time  he  again  returned  to  his  old 
field  of  "striking,"  and  was  detected  on  the  train 
near  Saratoga  changing  a  check  from  his  valise  to 
a  lady's  trunk.     VVhile  in  jail  on  this  charge  he 
and   Corydon   Rose,  another   prisoner,  sought  to 
burn  a  hole  through  the  floor  of  their  cell  and  thus 
effect  their  escape.    They  were  discovered  by  jailor 
Fred.  T.  Powell,  who,  smelling  the   smoke,  went 
to  the  corridor  and  asked  Thomas  if  he  had  a  fire 
in  his  cell.     He  answer^-d :   "Yes,  but  it  has  got 
the  best  of  me."     On  their  trial  for  arson  in  the 
January  Oyer,  1867,  Mr.  Powell's  evidence  to  that 
effect  was  contended  by  the  prisoners'  counsel  to 
show  that  they  had  not  intended  to  barn  the  jail, 
and  they  were  acquitted.     He  also  escaped  convic- 
tion on  the  other  charge  by  the  absence  from  the 
state  at  the  time  of  the  trial  of  a  material  witness 
for  the  people.    Since  then  he  has  absented  himself 
from  this  vicinity. 

At  the  September  Oyer,  186i),  two  indictments  for 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  159 

mnrder  were  foiiixd :  viz.  one  against  John  H.  Price 
for  the  shooting  of  James  Cox,  in  Wilton,  and  tlie 
other  against  William  Yanderwerker  for  the  shoot- 
ing of  Harrison  Sherman.  The  first  indictment  was 
tried  at  the  term  it  was  framed.  District  Attorney 
Charles  S.  Lester  appeared  for  the  people,  and  the 
defense  of  the  prisoner  was  conducted  by  Clement 
C.  Hill.  It  was  shown  on  the  trial  that  Price,  then 
a  bo}^  of  eleven  years,  had  gone  into  the  residence 
of  Mr.  Cox,  in  Wilton,  took  up  his  gun,  pointed  it 
at  the  head  of  little  Jimmy  Cox,  a  boy  of  four  years, 
and  in  the  presence  of  the  mother,  deliberately  shot 
and  killed  him.  He  was  convicted  of  manslaughter 
and  sent  to  the  Western  House  of  Refuge.  Subse- 
quent developments  prove  him  to  be  a  sort  of  com- 
pound of  Jesse  Pomeroy  and  Piper,  the  "belfry 
murderer,"  ibr  since  his  release  from  the  house  of 
refuge,  at  the  October  Sessions,  1868,  he  was  con- 
victed of  a  deadly  assault  on  George  W.  Harder, 
at  Wilton,  July  1  of  that  year,  and  sentenced  to 
the  county  jail  for  three  months.  At  that  trial  he 
was  defended  by  Lewis  Yarney.  He  is  now  serving 
a  term  of  one  year  in  the  Albany  penitentiary  for 
an  assault  with  attempt  to  kill  with  a  deadly  weapon 
(a  pitchfork)  James  S.  Taylor,  at  Wilton.  July  23, 
1875.  He  was  defended  on  this  trial  at  the  ISTovem- 
ber  Sessions  by  Jesse  S.  L'Amoreaux  and  Jesse 
Stiles.  The  shooting  of  Sherman  by  Yanderwerken 
was  an  act  of  drunken  frenzy.  Sherman  was  track- 
master  of  the  Rensselaer  and  Saratoga  railroad, 
and  on  the  morning  of  July  27,  1860,  as  he  left  his 


160  THE   BENCH   AND   BAH 

house  to  go  to  his  work,  the  drunken  Vanderwerker 
emerged  from  liis  house,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
street  in  Waterford,  with  a  shot  gun,  which  he 
raised  to  his  slioukler  and  shot  his  victim  thr  jugh 
the  heart,  killing  him  instantly.  Sherman  was  much 
beloved  by  the  railroad  men,  and  Vanderwerker 
twice  escaped  lynching  at  their  hands  only  by  the 
by  the  vigilance  of  sheriff  George  B.  Powell.  At 
the  January  Oyer,  1861,  he  plead  guilty  to  the  crime 
of  murder  in  the  second  degree  and  Judge  Piatt 
Potter  sentenced  him  to  imprisonment  for  life  At 
the  time  of  his  incarceration  he  was  hfty-seven  years 
of  age. 

December  23, 1860,  one  Charles  Harvey,  formerly 
a  "  gift  book"  dealer,  made  his  advent  in  Ballston 
Spa.  He  went  into  the  Railroad  hotel,  kept  by 
Lewis  Sickler,  where  he  met  the  author  of  this 
book,  who  had  previously  known  him  in  Mechan- 
icville.  While  in  conversation  he  spoke  of  an 
encounter  he  had  had  with  the  Albany  police  the 
night  before,  and  exhibited  a  bullet  hole  in  the 
skirts  of  his  coat.  He  hired,  the  same  day,  a  horse 
and  cutter  of  Stephen  B.  Medbery  to  go  to  Sarato- 
ga lake,  but  drove  to  Castleton,  below  Albany, 
where  he  disposed  of  the  rig.  Mr.  Medbery  recov- 
ered his  property  after  a  few  months,  but  nothing 
more  was  seen  of  Harvey  until  a  few  days  after  the 
battle  of  Bull  Run,  in  July,  1861,  when  he  was  dis- 
covered by  officer  Mitchell  at  Congress  Hall,  Sara- 
toga Springs,  in  the  full  uniform  of  a  major  of  Penn- 
sylvania volunteers.    He  was  arrested,  plead  guilty 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  161 

at  the  December  Oyer  followiiig,  and  was  sent  to 
states  prison  for  two  years.  He  i*s  now  serving  a 
five  years'  sentence  in  the  Albany  penitentiary  for 
a  "confidence  operation "  on  a  Nova  Scotian  in  the 
Albany  depot,  a  year  or  so  ago. 

At  the  September  Oyer,  1862,  John  R.  Packard 
and  Mary  A.  Packard,  his  daughter,  were  convict- 
ed of  manslaughter  in  the  second  degree  for  causing 
tlie  death  of  officer  William  W.  Mitchell,  and  sen- 
tenced to  four  years  imprisonment  in  states  prison. 
The  facts  were  in  substance  as  follows :  Packard 
was  a  physician  in  very  reduced  circumstances, 
and  he  and  his  two  daughters  lived  very  secludedly 
in  Saratoga  Springs.  They  had  been  subjected  to 
annoyance  by  evil-minded  persons,  and  when,  on 
May  22,  1862,  officers  Yibbard  and  Mitchell  went 
to  the  house  to  serve  legal  process  they  were  refused 
entrance.  They  burst  open  the  door,  when  a  pole 
with  a  knife  attached  was  thrust  out  inflicting  a 
mortal  wound  on  the  person  of  Mitchell.  They 
were  defended  by  James  P.  Butler  and  Joseph  A. 
Shoudy,  while  District  Attorney  Lester  maintained 
the  interests  of  the  people.  Mary  was  accordingly 
taken  to  Sing  Sing  and  her  father  to  Dannemora. 
Mr.  Butler,  their  counsel,  believing  them  unjustly 
convicted,  continued  his  gratuitous  labors  in  their 
behalf  and  a  year  later  secured  their  pardon  from 
Governor  Fenton.    They  then  went  to  the  far  West. 

At  the  May  Oyer,  1863,  William  Dougherty  was 
tried  for  the  murder  of  Thomas  Martiji  at  Schuyler- 
ville,  October  31,  1862.     District  Attorney  Isaac  C . 


1(82  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

Ormsby  and  Edward  F.  BuUard  appeared  in  behalf 
of  the  people,  and  John  Lewis  and  Edgar  L.  Furs- 
man  for  the  prisoner,  who  was  convicted  of  man- 
slaughter in  the  second  degree  and  sentenced  to 
seven  years  in  states  prison.  At  the  January  Oyer, 
1866,  Cornelius  S.  Huyck  was  convicted  of  man- 
slaughter in  the  fourth  degree  for  causing  tlie  death 
of  Susan  H.  Rogers,  a  little  girl,  at  Mechanicville, 
by  an  act  of  culpable  negligence,  being  the  careless 
use  of  fire-arms,  and  he  was  sentenced  to  the  county 
jail  for  six  months.  This  was  followed  by  the  trial 
in  the  November  Sessions,  1864,  of  Abraham  C.^ 
Bentley,  indicted  for  an  assault  and  battery  with  a 
deadly  weapon  upon  Henry  Evans.  District  Attor- 
ney Ormsby  and  J.  S.  L'Amoreaux  appeared  in 
behalf  of  the  people  and  the  prisoner  was  defended 
by  D.  B.  Carver  and  W.  B.  Litch.  Bentley  and 
Evans  were  at  work  in  the  woods,  in  the  town  of 
Providence,  June  20,  1864,  when  an  altercation 
arose  and  Bentley  stabbed  Evans  with  a  knife,  in 
the  abdomen.  Althougli  nearly  disemboweled,  he 
walked  about  two  miles  before  he  could  ,n:et  aid. 
He  subsequently  recovered,  Bentley  was  convicted 
and  sentenced  to  states  prison  by  Judge  Hulbert 
for  four  years  and  six  months. 

Julia  A.  Nash,  a  notorious  character  who  had 
given  much  trouble  to  the  courts  for  several  years, 
was  on  the  third  day  of  July^  1866,  serving  a  sen- 
tence for  petit  larceny  in  the  county  jail.  Wishing 
to  enjoy  her  liberty  the  next  day,  on  the  night  of 
the  third  she  effected  her  escape  by  removing  four 


OF   SARATOGA   COUI^TY.  163 

bricks  from  under  the  window  and  escaped  by 
squeezing  her  body  through  that  oritice.  She  was 
re-arrested  the  next  day  by  officer  Henry  Harrison 
and  returned  to  her  old  quarters.  At  the  following 
September  Oyer  she  was  tried  and  convicted  of  jail 
breaking  and  sent  to  Sing  Sing  for  one  year.  At 
the  same  term  Charles  Johnson,  by  the  advice  of 
counsel,plead  guilty  of  the  disgusting  crime  of  rape. 
He  was  a  negro,  and  the  victim  was  a  small  white 
girl  whom  he  assaulted  and.  ravished  while  gather- 
ing beri-ies.  It  was  his  second  crime  of  the  kind, 
and,  although  he  asked  the  mercy  of  the  court. 
Judge  Bockes  sentenced  him  to  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury" s  imprisonment  at  hard  labor.  It  was  soon 
discovered  that  a  recent  legislative  enactment  had 
limited  the  punishment  for  this  crime  to  twenty 
years,  and  Johnson  was  again  brought  into  tie 
court  room  and  sentenced  to  the  full  extent  of  the 
law. 

A  defense  of  insanity  having  been  sue  ;essfully 
interposed  by  J.  P.  Butler  in  the  case  of  John  Mor- 
gan, indicted  for  firing  a  pistol  at  Michael  O'Neil, 
at  Saratoga  Springs,  June  21, 1867,  at  the  December 
term  of  that  year  he  was,  on  motion  of  District  At- 
torney-Or  msby,  ordered  by  Judge  Hulbert  to  be 
conlined  in  the  state  lunatic  asylum  at  Auburn. 
That  defense  has  never  been  a  popular  one  in  this 
county. 

Again  the  records  are  stained  with  blood.  Wil- 
liam J.  Kirtly  was  brought  to  trial  for  the  murder 
of  John  T.  Jones  of  Saratoga  Springs,  August  26, 


164  THE   BENCH  AND   BAR 

1867.     This  case  illustrates  the  dangers  arising  from 
the   carrjang  of  lire  arms  by  persons  of  an  easily 
irritable  nature.     A  dispute  arose  on  the  piazza  of 
one  of  the  hotel  s.    Jones  unguardedly  strucli  Kirtly 
a  blow,  and  the  latter  at  once  drew  a  pistol  and 
shot   him.     The   situation  of  the  parties  and  the 
motives  that  led  to  the  blow  were  such  as  to  easily 
show  that  it  was  a  homicide  of  the  lower  grade  of 
crime ;    one   that    would    not  have   occurred   had 
Kirtly  been  unarmed.     He  was,  too,  a  partial  crip- 
ple  and  his  irritable  nature  was  induced  by  that 
misfortune.     At  the  trial  in  the  September  Oyer, 
1867,  before  Judge  Potter,  he  was  prosecuted   on 
behalf  of  the  people  by  District  Attorney  Onus  by 
and  L.    B.    Pike.     He  had   the  assistance  in  his 
defense  of  James  P.  Butler  and  William  A.  Beach, 
and  was  convicted  of  manslaughter  in  the  second 
degree.     He  was  a  native  of  Marietta,  Ga.,  twenty 
eight  years  of  age,  and  was  sentenced  to  sei've  a 
of  five  years  at  hard  labor  in  Dannemora.     This 
was  followed  by  the  indictment  of  a  neoro  named 
James  Robinson  for  shooting  and  killing  his  white 
mistress,  Sarah  C.  Crahh,  alias  Mabee,  in  thetown 
of  Day,  March  20,  1869.   When  arraigned  he  plead 
not  guilty,  but  finding  that  Gen.  Winsor  B.  French, 
then  district  attorney,  was   making  a  strong  case 
with  a  tendency  to  a  hempen  terminus,    he  plead 
guilty  to   murder  in  the  second  degree,  and  was 
sentenced  to  states  prison  for  life  by  Judge  Bockes. 
The  desperado  has  since  escaped  from  Dannempra, 
and  is  yet  at  large. 


OF  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  165 

For  several  years  prior  to  1870,  the  notorious 
Michael  H.  Hickey,  the  "wickedest  man  in  Sara- 
toga," had  defied  law  and  justice  at  his  Lake 
avenue  den  in  that  village.  Finally,  in  one  of  his 
drunken  orgies,  he  took  a  pistol  and  fired  at  ran- 
dom on  the  street.  District  Attorney  French  then 
determined  to  rid  the  county  of  the  monster.  At 
the  January  Oyer  he  procured  indict Qients  against 
Hickey  for  an  assault  with  intent  to  do  bodily 
harm,  keeping  a  disorderly  house,  receiving  stolen 
property,  grand  larceny,  and  for  an  assault  with 
intent  to  kill  w^itli  a  deadly  weapon  one  James 
Murphy.  He  was  tried  at  the  June  Sessions  for 
keeping  a  disorderly  house,  convicted  and  sen- 
tenced to  one  year  in  the  Albany  penitentiary  and 
to  pay  a  fine  of  $250.  At  the  December  Sessions 
in  the  same  year,  he  was  convicted  of  the  assault 
on  Murphy,  and  for  the  shooting  the  pistol  in  the 
street  and  sentenced  to  six  months  in  the  peniten- 
tiary on  each  charge,  each  sentence  to  follow  the 
former  successively,  making  his  imprisonment  two 
years  in  all.  It  was  effectual,  and  Judge  Hulbert 
and  Gen.  French  were  congratulated  on  their  suc- 
cess in  removing  him  from  the  county.  Previous 
to  his  first  trial  he  forfeited  his  bail,  and  was  recap- 
tured by  detective  James  N.  Case  as  he  was  about 
to  embark  for  Ireland  at  Boston,  for  he  knew  that 
the  authorities  meant  business  while  he  was  on 
American  soil. 

The  Van  Rensselaer  "anti-rent"  cases  have  in 
several  instances  led  to  the  loss  of  life  in  the  (;oun- 


166  THE   BENCH   AND   BAR 

ties  of  Rensselaer,  Albany  and  Columbia.     In  1869,. 
Col.    Walter   S.    Clmrch,    representing    the    Van 
Rensselaer  estate,  obtained  a  writ  of  ejectment  from 
the  Siipreme  Court  to  dispossess  one  William  Wit- 
beck  from  the  farm  he  occupied  under  a  manorial 
lease  in  East  Greenbush,  Rensselaar  county.     Dep- 
uty Sheriff   Willard  Griggs  went  with  a  'posse  to 
serve  the  writ  July  26,  1869.     It  was  resisted  and  a 
combat  took  place  in  which  several  firearms  were 
discharged  by  both  parties.     Several  wounds  were 
received,  and  that  upon  the  person  of  Sheriff  Griggs 
was  mortal,  and  from  which  he  soon   afterwards 
died.     District  Attorney  'J'imrthy  S.  Banker,  after 
several  fruitless  endeavors,  procured  an  indictment 
in  the  Rensselaer  Session  in  February,  1870,  against 
William  Witbeck   his   sons   Benjamin  and  John 
P.,  his   son-in-law   Zebulon  Bass,  and  hired  man 
William  W  ood,  charging  them  with  the  wilful  mur 
der  of  Willard  Griggs.     Subsequently,  on  motion 
in  the  Supreme  Court,"  he  procured  a  change  of 
mnue  to  the  Saratoga  Oyer  and  Terminer.     It  was 
brought  to  trial  at  a  special  term  of  the  court  held" 
by  Judge  James,  July  25  of  the  same  year.     The 
people  were  represented  by  Timothy  S.  Banker, 
William  T.  Odell,  Matthew  Hale  and  William  A. 
Beach.     The  prisoners  had  the  aid  of  Edgar  L. 
Fursman,  Lemuel  B.  Pike,  Henry  Smith  and  Mar- 
tin I.  Townsend.     Outside  of  this  array  were  Col. 
Church,  assisting  the  prosecution  and  Anson  Bing- 
ham, of  the  noted  firm  of  lawyers  in  Albany  who 
have  managed  the  anti  rent  civil  suits,  aiding  the, 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  167 

defense.     The  evidence,  argument  of  coimsel  and 
rulings  of  the  court  were  phonographed  by  Spencer 

C.  Rodgers  of  Troy,  and  his  assistant, Tinsley, 

who  alternately  relieved  each  other  during  the  five 
days  of  the  trial  and  made  two  coj)ies  of  their  day's 
work  each  night.  There  was  a  great  anxiety  on 
the  part  of  jurors  to  escape  sitting  on  the  trial  and 
one  of  the  panel,  who  could  not  learn  enough  of 
the  case  to  form  an  opinion,  secured  a  rejection  by 
telling  Mr.  Townsend  that  his  "mind  was  so  con- 
stituted that  he  always  agreed  with  the  man  who 
spoke  last."  The  evidence  was  thoroughly  and 
exhaustively  presented  to  the  jury  on  the  part  of 
the  prisoner  by  Messrs.  Smith  and  Townsend,  and 
on  behalf  of  the  people  by  Messrs.  Hale  and  Beach. 
Judge  James  charged  the  jury  fully  on  the  law  and 
committed  the  case  to  them.  After  an  absence  of 
about  an  hour  they  returned  with  a  verdict  of  "not 
guilty." 

In  the  spring  of  1870,  the  people  of  this  section 
were  astonished  to  hear  that  in  the  person  of  Charles 
H.  Stevens  who  had  been  arrested  on  the  charge  of 
stealing  a  horse  from  Hiram  Parker  of  Clifton  Park, 
the  authorities  had  secured  no  less  a  personage 
that  the  notorious  Barney  Francisco,  the  most 
expert  horse  thief  and  land  pirate  since  the  daj^s  of 
John  A.  Murrell.  As  soon  as  he  was  jailed,  he 
began  to  feign  penitence  for  his  crimes  and  divulged 
where  several  other  horses  taken  from  all  parts  of 
the  state  were  Some  of  them  were  recovered,  and 
it  was  noticed  that  all  of  them  were  in  the  hands  of 


168  THE  BENCH  AND   BAE. 

innocent  purchasers  at  the  time.  He  wanted  to  be 
taken  to  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  and  give  evidence  against 
some  of  his  gang  there.  He  also  pretended  to  tell 
w^here  he  had  seen  the  team  of  James  E.  Davis  of 
South  Ballston,  which  had  been  stolen  in  the  pre- 
vious February,  and  indicated  two  lishermen  named 
James  and  Benjamin  Eldred,  of  Greene  county,  as 
the  thieves  who  had  taken  the  horses.  The  Eldreds 
were  arrested,  indicted  for  this  alleged  crime,  and 
brought  to  trial  at  the  June  Sessions,  1870.  Dis- 
trict Attorney  Ormsby  was  the  public  prosecutor 
and  the  prisoners  were  defended  by  James  P.  But- 
ler. Francisco  was  the  chief  witness  to  establish 
the  crime,  but  he  broke  down  under  the  fiery  cross 
examination  of  Mr.  Butler,  and,  forgetting  the  part 
he  was  assuming,  he  sat  erect  in  his  cliair  throwing 
aside  the  drooping  shoulder  he  had  worn  as  a  dis- 
guise ever  since  his  incarceration  here.  The  pris- 
oners proved  an  alibi,  and  the  jury  acquitted  them. 
The  team  were  afterwards  found  near  Hudson, 
where  a  man  with  the  familiar  name  of  John  Smith 
had  sold  them  shortly  after  the  theft.  Francisco, 
soon  after,  induced  constable  Samuel  C.  Beeman  of 
Ballston  to  bail  him  and  go  with  him  to  Pittsfield. 
Thej^  went  there  in  company  with  Deputy  Sheriff 
Chapman  of  Berkshire  count^^,  and  the  wily  horse 
thief  slipped  from  their  custody  and  escaped.  He 
was  thought  by  some  to  have  been  the  same  per- 
son as  the  notorious  E.  H.  Ruloft,  hung  at  Bing- 
hamton  in  1872. 

The  evil  practice  of  corrupting  the  elective  fran- 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  169 

chise  having  been  introduced  into  this  county  such 
an  extent  that  at  the  polls  in  certain  towns  at  nearly 
every  election  a  class  of  men,  unworthy  of  the  lib- 
erty they  enjoy,  were  purchased  to  the  great  scan- 
dal of  our  county  and  the  lowering  of  the  standard 
of  political  morality,  the  grand  jury  impaneled  at 
September  term  1870,  consisting  of  men  of  both 
political  parties  headed  by  James  L.  Cramer  of 
Saratoga  Springs,  foreman,  made  a  formal  present- 
ment condemning  the  practice  of  buying  votes  at 
elections  as  subversive  of  our  political  and  national 
liberties.  Judge  Bockes  thanked  them  in  behalf  of 
the  court  and  directed  that  the  presentment  be 
entered  upon  the  minutes  by  the  clerk. 

Two  offenses  against  human  life  were  brought  to 
the  attention  of  the  court  at  the  May  Oyer,  1871. 
One  was  the  indictment  of  Henry  Husher  of  Sara- 
toga Springs  for  the  murder  of  Samuel  Young, 
March  7,  previous,  in  an  affray  ;  and  the  other  that 
of  Wallace  Vandercook  for  shooting  Andrew  Fel- 
lows of  Clifton  Park,  February  7.  He  was  also 
indicted  for  robbery  of  the  person  of  Fellows. 
Husher  was  allowed  to  plead  guilty  of  man- 
slaughter in  the  first  degree  and  was  sentenced  to 
states  prison  for  ten  years.  Vandercook' s  crime 
was  a  most  dastardly  one,  and  in  some  respects 
rivaled  the  shooting  of  Halpine  by  John  I,  Filkins, 
the  express  robber.  Both  shot  their  intended  vic- 
tim through  the  head  making  similar  wounds,  and 
in  each  case  there  was  a  recovery  from  the  nearly 
fatal  shots.  The  object  of  each  was  to  obtain  money  j 
8 


170  THE  BENCH  AND   BAR 

Yandercook  having  decoyed  Fellows,  a  farmer,  into 
his  barn  yard  and  there  shot  and  robbed  him  and 
then  fled.  Both  were  convicted  on  the  robbery 
charge,  as  being  the  most  serious  count  under  the 
statute.  Vandercook  was  sentenced  to  states  prison 
for  a  term  of  fifteen  years.  At  the  January  Oyer, 
1872,  William  Cherry  of  Saratog  Springs  was  tried 
before  Judge  James  on  tlie  charge  of  murdering  his 
wife.  He  was  ably  and  successfully  defended  by 
L.  B.  Pike,  P.  H.  Cowen  and  John  Foley,  and 
after  hearing  the  evidence  the  jury  acquitted  the 
prisoner.  The  woman  fell,  while  both  were  intoxi- 
cated, and  received  fatal  injuries. 

Next  in  order  comes  the  trial,  the  result  of  which 
has  done  much  to  lower  the  standard  of  the  Sara- 
toga county  juries.     That  was  the  acquittal  of  the 
notorious  Peter  Curley.     The  state  at  large  as  well 
as  our  county  were  astounded  in  October,  1872,  to. 
hear  of  the  robbery  of  the  Saratoga  County  Bank  at 
Waterford,  by  an  organized  gang  of  thieves,  and  of 
the  cruelties  and  indignities  practiced  by  them  upon 
D.  M.  Van  Hovenburgh,  the  cashier,  and  his  family 
at  the  dead  of  the  night.     Suspicion  soon  fell  on 
Peter  Curley,  a  well  known  professional  burglar, 
formerly  of  Troy,  who  had  hitherto  escaped  con- 
viction.    Pending  a  watch  of  his  motions  by  the 
New   York  detectives,  one  William   C.  Brandon 
was  discovered  selling  some  of  the  stolen  bonds  in 
the  city  of  New  York.     He  was  arrested  by  detec- 
tive Edward  Radford  who  recognized  him  as  a  well 
known  "fence,"  or  concealer  of  stolen  goods.     Cur- 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  171 

ley  was  arrested  about  the  same  time,  and  in  default 
of  $500, 000  Mil  they  were  committed  by  Justice  Wil- 
liam Shepherd  to  the  Ballston  jail  to  await  indict- 
ment.    They  were  duly  indicted  at  the  January 
Oyer,  and  a  special  term  of  the  court  was  set  down 
for  tlieir  trial  March  6.     The  court  duly  convened 
with  Justice  Bockes  presiding.     The  people  were 
represented    by    District  Attorney    Ormsby    and 
Edward  F.  Bullard.     Curley,  who  was  brought  to 
trial,  was   defended   by   Messrs.    Fursman,  Pike, 
Odell,  Miles  Beach,  P.  H.  Cowenand  Henry  Smith. 
The  evidence  showed  Curley  at  Hudson,  the  next 
day  after  the  robbery,  tampering  with  officers  to  be 
released  from  arrest,  and  was  quite  direct  in  fol 
lowing  him  from  the  bank  to  Albany  and  thence  to 
Hudson.     The  case  was  summed  up  by  Mr.  Smith 
for  the  prisoner,  and  Mr.  Bullard  for  the  prosecu- 
tion.    Judge   Bockes'  charge  was  pointed  and  was 
one  of  the  ablest  ever  given  from  the  bench  in  this 
county.     The  jury  disagreed,  ten  standing  for  cout 
viction  and  two  for  acquittal.     He  was  re-tried  at 
the   May  Oyer,  again  before  Justice  Bockes.     The 
same  evidence  was  given,  it  was  explained  to  the 
jury  by  the  district  attorney  and  Mr.  Fursman,  and 
the  co\irt  substantially  reiterated  its  former  charge. 
To  the  astonishment  of  all,  themselves  and  some  of 
Curley' s  friends  alone  excepted,  the  jury  rendered 
a  verdict  of  acquittal,  and  followed  it  up  by  going 
to  a  hotel  and  partaking  of  a  banquet  provided  by 
the  funds   stolen   from   widows   and   orphans  on 
deposit  in  the  bank.     Curley  was  thus  turned  loose, 


172  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

and  the  legitimate  fruit  of  this  dereliction  of  duty 
by  two  Saratoga  county  juries  was  the,Barre,  Vt., 
bank  robbery  by  Curley,  who  to  escape  conviction 
a  few  months  since  turned  state's  evidence  and  con- 
victed George  E.  Miles,  another  of  the  gang.  Bran- 
don gave  bail  to  the  next  terra,  and  finally  a  nolle 
pros,  was  entered.  Rumors  that  the  felony  was 
compromised  by  a  committee  of  the  losers  were 
generally  believed. 

The  difference  betw':'en  New  York  and  Vermont 
justice  was  again  illustrated  at  the  January  Oyer, 
1874.  One  Daniel  J.  Shaw  was  indicted  for.  com- 
mitting bigamy  in  this  county.  He  claimed  that 
he  thought  that  an  agreement  signed  by  himself 
and  wife  to  live  apart  was  a  valid  divorce.  He  was 
bailed  on  his  own  recognizance  to  appear  at  the 
next  Sessions.  He  then  went  with  his  new  wife  to 
Rutland,  wliere  the  old  spouse  followed  him,  had 
arrested  for  adultery,  (a  crime  in  Vermont)  and  he 
was  consigned  to  Windsor  prison  for  two  years 
before  the  time  arrived  for  him  to  appear  for  trial 
here. 

The  Board  of  Supervisors  of  1873,  having  dis- 
covered gross  irregularities  in  certain  constables' 
bills,  caused  the  indictment  of  Samuel  C.  Beeman, 
Erastus  R.  Fort  and  Jacob  Devoe  for  perjury  in 
swearing  to  false  items  in  their  bills.  Also,  against 
Charles  Rosekrans  and  Jacob  Devoe  for  forgery  in 
the  third  degree,  in  presenting  for  audit  i  foi-ged 
constables'  bill  in  the  name  of  Samuel  Johnson. 
The  indictments  were  found  at  the  January  term, 


OF   SARATOGA   COTTNTT.  178 

1874.  After  various  dilatory  measures  had  been 
taken,   they  plead  guilty  at  the  April   Sessions, 

1875,  and   thereupon   Charles   S.    Lester,  co.unty 
judge,  sentenced  them  each  to  pay  a  fine  of  $250. 
Michael  Rattigan  and  William  W.  Garrett,  excise 
commissioners  of  the  village  of  Ballston  Spa,   were 
at  the  same  term  each  fined  $25  for  violation  of  the 
excise  law,  in  refusing  to  revoke  a  license  on  due 
proof  of  its  terms  having  been  broken.     James 
Mullen  was  tried  and   convicted  at  the  February 
Sessions,  1875,  for  having  made  an  assault  with  an 
intent  to  kill  James  Norris  at  the  latter' s  residence 
in  the  town  of  Providence,  in  the  previous  summer. 
Mullen,  who  was  a  tanner  working  at  Barkerville, 
was  an  alleged  paramour  of  Norris'  wife,  who  was 
much   the  junior   of  her  husband.     A  plot  was 
arranged  to  shoot  Norris,    and   he   was  severely 
wounded  by  a  pistol  shot  in  his  head  while  drawing 
some   cider  to   treat  his  would-be   murderer.     It 
proved  to  be  one  of  those  instances  where  the  thread 
of  life  is  not  snapped  under  the  strongest  tension, 
and  the  hardy  Celt,  with  the  ball  in  his  brain,  fully 
identified  his  assailant  on  the  witness  stand.     Mul- 
len was  defended  on  his  trial  by  George  W.  Hall. 
He  w^s  sentenced  to  states  prison  for  nine  years 
and  six  months.     James  H.  Standish  was  tried  at 
an  adjourned  Oyer  and  Terminer,  August  25,  1874, 
for  the  murder  of  George  W.  See  in  Wilton,  Feb- 
ruary 28,  previous.  The  deed  was  done  in  an  affray. 
See  lived  in    Standish' s  house,  and  the  latter  as- 
saulted the  former' s  wife  in  his  absence.     On  the 


174  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

husband' s  return,  he  called  Standish  to  account, 
when  the  latter  seized  a  flat  iron  and  crushed  poor 
See's  skull.  He  was  prosecuted  on  his  trial  by 
District  Attorney  Ormsby  and  Hon.  Lyman  Tre- 
main,  and  defended  by  Gen.  French  and  Hon. 
Henry  Smith.  He  was  convicted  of  murder  in  the 
second  degree,  and  Judge  Judson  S.  Landon  passed 
on  him  the  life  sentence. 

At  the  September  Oyer,  Charles  F.  Betts  plead 
guilty  to  the  charge  of  an  assault  with  intent  to  kill 
with  a  deadly  weapon,  one  Josiah  Stratton  in  Gal- 
way,  at  the  "reservoir,  and  was  sent  to  states 
prison  for  Ave  years  James  McEnery  and  Michael 
Dwyer,  the  Waterford  cemetery  ghouls,  were  also 
convicted,  notwithstanding  the  ingenious  defense 
put  in  by  their  assigned  counsel,  Theodore  F. 
Hamilton,  and  sent  to  the  penitentiary  for  six 
months. 

An  unfortunate  affair  occurred  at  Saratoga 
Springs  on  the  night  of  April  22,  1875.  John  F. 
Dennin,  a  constable,  while  intoxicated  attempted 
to  arrest  George  W.  Rogers  for  intoxication. 
During  the  melee  which  ensued,  Rogers'  skuii  was 
crushed  by  a  blow  from  a  blunt  instrument,  from 
the  effects  of  which  he  died.  Dennin  was  indicted 
in  May  for  manslaughter,  and  tried  in  the  Febru- 
ary Oyer,  1876,  before  Justice  Joseph  Potter.  The 
people  were  represented  by  District  Attorney 
Ormsby  and  N.  C.  Moak  of  Albany.  Notwith- 
standing the  efforts  of  his  counsel,  L.  B.  Pike,  J. 
Vjwi  Jteneee^a^r,  a  H.  T<>fft,  Jr.,  ajid  E.  L.  Furs- 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  175 

man,  Bennin  was  convicted  of  manslaughter-  in 
the  third  degree,  and  sentenced  to  Dannemora  for 
two  years. 

The  year  1875  was  an  "off  year"  for  pickpockets 
in  Saratoga  Springs,  by  reason  of  tlie  efforts  of  an 
able  corps  of  detectives  from  New  York  being 
employed  at  the  hotels.  John  D.  Sanburn,  a  sneak 
thief,  was  caught  at  the  Grand  Union  by  detectives 
Joel  Pike  and  Edward  Radford.  He  was  identified 
by  John  T.  Saxe  of  West  Troy,  as  the  man  whom 
he  saw  stealing  his  diamond  studs  in  his  room  in 
Congress  Hall,  and  to  Mr.  Saxe' s  credit  be  it  stated 
he  refused  to  "compromise,"  and  prosecuted  him 
to  a  conviction  in  the  September  Oyer.  He  was 
sent  to  states  prison  for  two  years.  James  Ander- 
son, a' sneak  thief,  caught  by  detective  Thomas 
Dusenbury  in  Congress  Hall,  plead  guilty  to  an 
attempted  burglary,  and  was  sent  to  the  peniten- 
tiary for  three  months.  W.  H.  Stanley,  alias 
Jackson,  was  shadowed  by  detective  James  M. 
Tilley  from  the  United  States  Hotel  to  the  Wilb  ur 
House,  where  he  took  rooms  and  was  caught  at 
midnight  by  Deputy  Sheriff  Brown  in  the  act  of 
t  lying  to  open  the  doors  of  guest' s  rooms.  He  plead 
C'uilty  ,at  the  November  Sessions.  Being  sentenced 
to  two  years  and  a  half  in  Clinton  prison,  he  was 
the  first  prisoner  from  this  county  s-nt  up  over  the 
New  York  and  Canada  railroad. 

Among  the  characters  imprisoned  in  the  jail  in 
recent  years  was  an  Englishman  who  gave  the  name 
of  Charier  H.  Baker.     He  was  arrested  in  the  sum- 


176  THE   BENCH  AND   BAR 

mer  of  1874  for  attempting  to  purchase  machinery 
of  Barber  &  Baker  of  Ballston  Spa,  under  the  false 
pretense  that  he  was  the  agent  ot  a  mining  firm  in 
Montana  territory,  to  which  section  the  machinery 
ordered  was  to  be  sent  by  his  directions.  His  true 
character  liaving  been  divulged,  the  firm  did  not 
fill  his  order  ;  but  instead,  procured  one  for  his 
arrest,  which  was  effected  at  Fort  Edward,  whither 
he  had  gone,  by  deputy  sheriff  D.  S.  Gilbert.  He 
was  committed  to  the  county  jail  to  wait  the  action 
of  the  approaching  grand  jury.  This  was  a  turn  of 
afiairs  not  laid  down  in  the  programme  of  his  sum- 
mer's  tour,  and  he  soon  tired  of  the  monotony  of 
prison  life.  He  first  sought  to  alarm  Jailor  Jeffers 
by  informing  him  that  he  had  developed  a  case  of 
small  pox,  having  been  exposed  to  that  disease 
shortly  before  his  incarceration.  Another  pris- 
oner weakened  the  dubious  faith  of  the  jailor  in 
that  story,  by  informing  him  that  Baker  had  been 
putting  croton  oil  on  his  face  and  arms  to  cause  the 
eruptive  blotches  which  were  apparent.  Dr.  iXoxon, 
the  jail  physician,  on  examining  the  prisoner  ex- 
posed the  fraud.  This  attempt  to  "break  out" 
having  failed,  he  next  confessed  to  a  pretended 
murder  in  Paris  during  the  Commune  siege,  saying 
that  he  was  a  member  of  the  "Foreign  Li^gion"  and 
had  murdered  a  comrade  by  throwing  him  over  the 
parapet  of  a  bridge  across  the  Seine.  His  object 
was  to  have  the  story  reach  the  ears  of  the  French 
minister  at  Washington,  and  thus  cause  his  extra- 
dition for  a  crime  against  the  French  republic.     He 


OF  SARATOGA^COTTNTY.  177 

knew  that  a  conviction  could  not  be  had  for  a  cap  • 
ital  offense  on  his  unsupported  confessijn,  and  he 
would  thus  be  set  at  liberty.  A  few  days  subse- 
quent to  the  publication  of  his  so-called  confession 
in  one  of  the  city  papers,  Mr.  Thompson,  of  the 
Troy  Daily  Press^  and  the  author  interviewed  him 
in  the  jail.  Mr.  Thompson  was  in  Paris  in  the 
days  of  the  commune  and  readily  detected  the 
falsity  of  the  fellow's  statements  from  his  own 
knowledge  of  the  city.  The  French  authorities 
refusing  to  notice  him,  he  plead  guilty  to  the 
indictment  found  against  him.  His  offense  not 
having  fully  perpetrated,  and  in  consideration  of 
the  time  he  had  been  in  prison,  he  was  sentenced 
to  be  conhned  in  the  county  jail  for  the  term  of  live 
days.  At  the  expiration  of  tL  at  time  he  departed, 
and  soon  wended  his  way  to  New  Hampslij-e, 
where  he  began  his  old  tricks  aud  before  the  end 
of  the  year  had  secured  a  situation  for  hve  years. 
"Self-preservation  is  the  hrst  law  of  nature." 
Next  to  that,  in  all  civilized  nations,  is  the  preserv- 
ation of  the  public  health.  For  that  purpose  onr 
legislature  has  wisely  directed  that  "iioards  of 
Health"  may  be  established  in  all  the  cities,  vil- 
lages and  towns  of  the  state,  and  iias  conferred  upon 
them  seemingly  arbitrary  and  summary  powers. 
It  has  been  the  practice  for  years  for  the  several 
village  boards,  as  soon  as  possible  after  they  have 
been  constituted,  to  meet  aud  adopt  sundry  "rules 
and  regulations"  for  the  ensuing  year.  Usually 
they  adopt  tliose  of  the  preceding  year,  with  any 


178  THE  BENCH   ATiD   BAR 

amendments  that  may  be  neccessary.  In  the  spring 
of  1875,  the  Board  of  Health  of  Saratoga  Springs, 
composed  of  Dr.  Franli  M.  Boyce,  Justice  Phineas 
F.  Allen  and  Trustee  George  Hinkley,  by  due 
appointment  under  the  laws,  met  and  adopted  the 
by-laws  of  the  previous  year  and  caused  them  to  be 
published.     The  fifteenth  by-law  read  as  follows  : 

"All  physicians  having  any  case  or  cases  of  small  pox,  or  chol- 
era, shall  immediately  report  snch  case  or  cases  to  the  board  of 
health  ;  also,  ali  persons  having  on  their  premises  any  case  or  cases 
of  small  pox,  or  persons  known  to  have  been  exposed  to  the  same, 
or  of  cholera,  sliall  immediately  report  the  same  to  the  board  of 
health,  or  any  member  of  the  same. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  month  of  November, 
1875,  the  child  of  Mrs.  Carrie  Chase,  residing  on 
Washington  street  in  a  thickly  settled  part  of  the 
village,  became  sick  with  an  eruptive  disease.  Dr. 
Thomas  E.  Allen,  a  physician  practicing  in  the  vil- 
lage, was  called.  The  child  died  and  several 
matrons  in  the  vicinity  went  in  to  perform  the  last 
oiRces.  About  a  fortnight  later  they  were  taken 
with  a  similar  disease.  Other  physicians  were 
called  and  it  was  pronounced  the  small  pox,  or  in 
some  instances,  the  varioloid.  A.  strict  quarantine 
was  at  once  established  and  Dr.  Allen  was  severely 
censured  by  the  public  for  not  reporting  the  case  of 
the  Chase  child.  He  replied  that  it  did  not  have 
the  small  pox,  but  varlocella,  or  chicken  pox. 
Several  deaths  followed  from  the  foul  disease,  but 
the  excitement  had  about  died  away  when  on  the 
third  day  of  January,  1876,  it  became  known  that 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  179 

Allen  had  privately  buried  his  cook,   a  colored 
woman  named  Ella  Lewis,  in  Green  Ridge  ceme- 
tery,   the   night  before.     He  was  at  once  arrested 
and  lield  to  bail  for  violating  the  by  law  before 
quoted.     His  boarding  house  was  put  in  quaran- 
'  tine  with  its  inmates,  including  Rev.   Mr.    Woods, 
pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  church,  and  family  and 
Miss  Alice  H.  Burt,  a  teacher  in  one  of  the  public 
schools.     Other  fatal   cases   followed  which  were 
indirectly   traceable  to  his  negligence  besides  some 
liot  fatal  in  his   house,  which  resulted  from   this 
exposure.      He    was    indicted    on    three    several 
charges  at  the  February  Oyer,  and  brought  tc  trial 
at  the  March  Sessions  on  the  indictment  alleging 
criminal   negligence   in   the   Lewis  case.     County 
Judge  Lester  presided  with  Justices  of  the  Sessions 
John  Brown  and  John  Peck.     District   Attorney 
Ormsbyhadthe  assistance  of  John  Van  Rensselaer 
of  Saratoga  Springs  ;  and  Dr.  Allen  in  his  defense 
had   secured  the  legal  services  of  Lewis  Varney, 
James   M.    Andrews,    Jr.^    and   James  P.  Butler. 
Their  first  endeavor  on  the  moving  of  the  indict- 
ment, for  trial  was  a  motion  to  quash  the  indict- 
ment on  the  ground  of  the  unconstitutionality  of 
the  law  under  which  the  by-laws  were  drawn.     It 
was  at  once  denied  by  Judge  Lester      They  then 
endeavored  to  put  the  case  over  the  term  on  affida- 
vits.    It  was  met  with  a  counter  affidavit  by  the 
district  attorney.     Judge  Lester  left  the  question 
of  the  sufficiency  of  the  affidavits  to  his  associates 
on  the  bench,  and  they  decided  that  the  case  must 


180  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR. 

be  tried  at  that  term.  This  is  said  to  be  the  only 
instance  in  this  county  wliere  a  question  has  been 
decided  solely  by  the  Justices   of  Sessions. 

A  day  having  been  set  for  the  trial,  at  the 
appointed  hour  the  Doctor  appeared  with  his  array 
of  counsel  strengthened  by  the  addition  of  Rufus  • 
W.  Peckham  of  Albany,  a  son  of  the  well  known 
judge  of  that  name  who  was  lost  on  the  Vllle  du 
Havre.  After  a  close  search,  twelve  jurors  were 
found  acceptable  to  both  the  people  and  the  pris 
oner.  The  evidence  of  the  people  showed  by  JoU 
Lewis,  husband  of  the  deceased  cook,  that  Allen 
told  him  to  allow  no  one  to  enter  her  room,  as  early 
as  Wednesday  previous  to  her  death  on  Sunday, 
and  that  on  Thursday  he  told  him  she  had  the  small 
pox.  He  detailed  the  manner  of  her  decease  and 
midnight  burial  by  him  and  the  doctor  under  the 
hitter's  directions.  Evidence  of  the  undertaker  of 
whom  the  box  in  which  she  was  buried  and  of  the 
sexton  of  the  cemetery  was  taken  to  show  the  decla- 
rations of  Allen  confirmatory  of  the  theory  that  he 
knew  she  had  small  pox.  He  relied  on  the  evi- 
dence of  his  brother,  Dr.  Asa  Allen,  to  prove  that 
Mrs.  Lewis  did  not,  in  his  opinion,  have  small  pox, 
and  his  own  testimony  to  the  same  effect,  and  that 
he  went  to  Dr.  Boyce's  office  on  Sunday  and  Mon- 
day to  notify  him  and  did  not  find  him  at  home. 
He  fortified  the  latter  with  the  testimony  of  Miss 
Burt,  that  she  was  with  him  on  the  latter^occasion. 
It  was  proved  on  the  part  of  the  people  by  the  phy- 
sicians who  exhumejd  and  examined  the  remains 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  181 

that  Mrs.  Lewis  died  of  confluent  small  pox,  and 
all  three  of  the  members  of  the  board  of  health  tes- 
tified that  Dr.  Allen  never  notified  them  of  any  case 
of  the  disease.  He  admitted  in  his  evidence  that 
at  the  time  Ella  Lewis  died,  his  housekeeper,  Eliza 
Gunn,  was  sick  under  his  roof  with  small  pox. 
Judge  Lester  charged  the  jury  in  substance  that 
the  fact  that  he  did  not  notify  either  member  of  the 
board  of  health  of  this  case  was  prima  facie  evi- 
dence of  wilful  negligence  on  the  part  of  Dr.  Allen, 
and  that  it  was  their  duty  to  judge  if  he  did  so 
wilfully  violate  the  said  by-law.  The  jury  retired 
at  2  p.  M.  and  returned  into  court  at  noon  the  next 
day  unable  to  agree  and  were  discharged.  They 
stood  eleven  for  conviction  and  one  for  acquittal. 
Whatever  may  have  caused  his  firmness  in  not 
yielding  to  the  convictions  of  his  fellow  jurors,  this 
case  has  excited  the  question  whether  a  unanimity 
of  jurors  should  be  asked.  And  whether  an 
amendment  to  the  constitution,  which  will  allow  a 
two-third  vote  to  determine  a  verdict,  should  not  be 
adopted  to  prevent  the  thwarting  of  justice  by  the 
obstinacy  of  one  man's  will  opposed  to  the  judg- 
ment of  eleven  of  his  peers.  Allen's  indictments 
were  theji  sent  to  the  next  Sessions  for  trial,  but 
previous  to  that  he  had  sought  safety  in  a  perma- 
nent journey  to  some  terra  incognita ;  having 
probably  gone  to  be  a  companion  to  the  forger 
Winslow  under  tlie  protecting  ?egis  of  the  British 
flag. 

The  history  of  our  criminal  courts  would  not  be 


182  THE  BENCH  AND    BAR 

complete  without  giving  the  details  of  an  indict- 
ment for  an  infraction  of  the  excise  laws,  as  they  at 
present  exist.  Such  an  one  was  the  Peoj)le  against 
Michael  O'Rourke,  a  saloon  keeper,  in  Saratoga 
Springs,  who  was  indicted  for  selling  strong  and 
spirituous  liquors  at  retail  in  quantities  less  than 
five  gallons,  to  be  drank  on  his  premises,  on  the 
first  day  of  February,  1874.  The  indictment 
charged  the  selling  of  "one  pint  of  brandy,  one 
pint  of  beer, ' '  etc.  The  defendant  plead  not  guilty. 
He  was  tried  at  the  June  Sessions,  1874,  before 
Judge  Lester.  The  court  directed  that  the  district 
attorney  should  confine  the  evidence  to  the  selling 
of  beer.  The  defendant,  by  Messrs.  P.  H.  Cowen* 
and  John  Foley,  his  attorneys,  offered  a  hotel 
license  in  evidence  but  the  court  refused  to  receive 
it  on  the  ground  that  the  defendant's  place  was  a 
saloon^  not  a  hotel  in  the  purview  of  the  law  ;  and 
held  with  Jndge  Mason,  that  such  a  license^to  a 
saloon  keeper  was  in  violation  of  the  sixth  section 
of  the  excise  law  of  1867.  Upon  proof  of  sale  of 
beer,  as  alleged  in  the  indictment,  the  jnr}'-  con- 
victed CRourke  and  he  was  fined  fifty  dollars. 
He  took  a  writ  of  error  to  the  Gei  eral  Term,  where 
the  conviction  was  reversed,  and  until  a  decision  is 
had  in  the  Court  of  Appeals  this  case  stands  as  a 


*Mr.iCowen  has  inherited  liis  fiUher's  talent  for  legal  aiUiior- 
ship,  and  has  compiled  a  "  Digest,  of  Criminal  Decisions  "  in  our 
state  courts  from  1777  to  1870.  It  wms  published  by  W.  C  Little 
of  Albany.  It  was^received  by  tiie  bar  with  great  favor  as  a  work 
of  exceedingly  high  merit  and  worth. 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  183 

ruling  precedent  to  guide  the  action  of  the  courts 
m  the  third  department 

During  the  period  embraced  in  this  chapter, 
Sheriff  Thomas  Low  had  been  succeeded  by  Theo- 
dore W.  Sanders,  William  T.  Seymour,  Henry  H. 
Hathorn,  Philip  H.  McOmber,  George  B.  Powell, 
Henry  H.  Hathorn,  Joseph  Baucus,  Tabor  B.  Rey- 
nolds. Thomas  Noxon  and  Franklin  Carpenter. 
Philip  H.  McOmber,  had  been  succeeded  in  the 
care  of  the  jail  by  Frederick  T.  Powell,  and  he  suc- 
cessively by  Manlius  Jeffers  and  Brill  Larmon. 
Jailor  Powell  was  in  charge  of  the  court  house  and 
jail  for  fifteen  years,  a  longer  period  than  any 
other  person  excepting  Gen.  Dunning.  During  all 
this  long  interval  James  W.  Horton  sat  at  the 
clerk's  desk,  while  crier  Boss  was  successively 
followed  by  Nathaniel  J.  Seeley,  Freeman  Thomas, 
David  F.  White  and  Norman  S.  May.  Unlike  his 
predecessors,  Mr.  May  is  in  the  primeof  lifeand  is 
a  very  useful  adjunct  to  the  courts,  serving  some- 
what in  the  capacity  of  marshal,  which  position  he 
holds  as  a  deputy  in  the  United  States  courts  for 
the  northern  district  of  New  Yoi'k. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

IMPORTANT  CIVIL  ACTIONS  TRIED  UNDER  THE  CODE. 

The  constitution  of  1846,  as  has  been  heretofore 
stated,  abolished  the  old  courts  of  the  state  and  sub- 
stituted new  ones  in  their  stead.  It  provided  for 
the  adoption  of  civil  and  criminal  codes  which 
should  take  the  place  of  the  old  time  honored  com- 
mon law.  A  civil  code  was  formed  by  the  com 
mission  appointed  for  that  purpose  and  was 
adopted  by  the  legislature  and  went  into  effect  July 
1,  1848.  The  commission  framed  a  criminal  code, 
but  it  has  never  been  adopted,  and  the  common  law 
yet  prevails  in  the  criminal  courts,  except  when  it 
contravenes  the  term  of  any  statute.  The  Court  of 
Appeals  under  the  constitution,  as  constituted  by 
the  act  of  May  12,  1847,  was  to  consist  of  four 
judges  elected  for  that  purpose  to  serve  eight  ^-ears, 
the  terms  to  be  decided  by  lot,  and  four  justices  of 
the  Supreme  Court  having  the  shortest  time  to 
serve.  By  the  amendment  of  the  constitution 
adopted  in  1869,  it  now  consists  of  a  Chief  Judge 
and  four  judges  elected  for  a  term  of  fourteen 
years.  Any  judge  who  arrives  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty years  shall  vacate  the  office  on  the  thirty-first 
of  the  ensuing  December,  and  any  vacancy  shall  be 
filled  by  an  election  for  a  full  term.     Under  the 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTT.  185 

code  the  Court  of  Appeals  has  the  same  jurisdic- 
tion that  was  possessed  by  the  old  Court  of  Errors. 
The  judicial  act  provided  that  four  justices  of  the 
Supreme  Court  should  be  elected  in  each  of  the 
eight  districts  of  the  state,  with  an  additional  jus- 
tice in  the  first  district.  They  should  hold  office 
for  eight  years  and  possess  all  the  powers  of  the 
former  Court  of  Chancery  and  judges  of  the  Su- 
preme and  Circuit  Courts.  Special  Terms  for 
iiearing  non -enumerated  motions  were  to  be  held 
at  stated  times,  and  a  General  Term  was  to  be  held 
in  each  county,  at  least  once  in  each  year,  by  the 
four  justices  of  each  district.  As  Circuit  judges 
they  were  to  hold  the  Circuit  Courts  and  Oyer  and 
Terminers.  By  the  statute  passed  in  pursuance  of 
the  amendment  of  1869,  the  former  General  Term 
was  superseded  and  the  state  was  divided  into 
departments,  and  the  governor  was  authorized  to 
select  three  of  the  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  in 
each  department  to  sit  at  General  Term  and  deter- 
mine the  cases  brought  before  them  on  appeals 
from  the  courts  below.  They  were  to  be  elected 
for  terms  of  fourteen  years  with  the  same  consti- 
tutional provision  as  to  age  and  the  filling  of  vacan 
cies  as  that  of  the  Court  of  Appeals.  They  are 
prohibited  from  practicing  as  attorneys,  or  sitting 
as  referees. 

The  new  County  Court  was  to  have  jurisdiction 
of  all  appeal  cases  pending  in  Common  Pleas  ; 
actions  involving  dower  ;  partitions,  when  the  land 
lies  in  the  county  ;  actions  for  debt,  when  defend- 


186  THE  BEITCH   AND   BAR 

ant  lives  in  the  county,  and  the  amount  claimed 
does  not  exceed  $200  ;  actions  for  assault  and  bat- 
tery and  false  imprisonment,  when  the  sum  ot 
damages  claimed  is  under  $500  ;  trespass  to  real  or 
personal  property,  when  damages  claimed  is  under 
$500;  actions  in  replevin,  when  the  value  of  the 
property  does  not  exceed  $1,000.  It  can  hear 
appeals  from  justices  courts  and  grant  new  trials, 
but  has  no  jurisdiction  at  Common  Law.  It  has 
had  equity  powers  conferred  in  it  to  direct  fore 
closures  of  mortgages,  the  sale  of  infant' s  estates 
and  real  estate  of  religious  corporations  in  the 
county.  The  county  judge  may  perform  all  the 
duties  that  might  have  been  performed  by  judges 
of  Common  Pleas  prior  to  May  12,  1847,  and,  if  of 
the  degree  of  counselor  at  law,  act  as  a  commis- 
sioner of  the  Supreme  Court.  The  County  Court  is 
always  open  for  the  transaction  of  business,  and  the 
judge  shall  perform  the  duties  of  surrogate  in  all 
counties  having  less  than  40,000  inhabitants,  and  in 
those  'ounties  when  the  surrogate  is  in  any  manner 
incapacitated  from  serving.  The  jurisdiction  of 
the  court  has  been  enlarged  by  several  amendments 
of  the  code  of  procedure.  Under  the  rules  adopted 
by  the  Supreme  Court,  in  pursuance  of  the  consti- 
tution of  1846,  all  attorneys  of  the  Chancery, 
Supreme  and  Common  Pleas  courts  were  continued 
as  attorneys  and  counselors  of  the  several  courts  of 
the  state,  and  the  modes  of  admission  for  applicants 
have  from  time  to  time  been  adopted  and  modiiled 
by  the  Oenexal  Term3.     From  that  time,  then,  th/e 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  187 

roll  of  attorneys  of  a  particular  county   became 
merged  in  the  bar  of  the  state. 

The  first  civil  action  of  importance  t7ied  in  tlie 
new  Circuit  Court  at  a  terra  held  in  this  county 
was  in  June,  1848,  before  Justice  Augustus  C.  Hand, 
being  that  brought  by  William  B.  Harris  and  John 
Harris  against  Thomas  B.  Thompson  and  eighteen 
othei's.  Isaac  W.  Thompson  and  Samuel  Stevens 
were  counsel  for  the  plaintiffs,  and  the  defense  was 
entrusted  to  William  Hay,  John  K.  Porter  and 
William  A.  Beach.  The  suit  was  brought  in  an 
action  on  the  case  ;  the  complaint  alleging  tliat  the 
defendants  had  willfuly,  maliciously  and  wrongfully 
torn  away  and  destroyed  a  portion  of  the  Fort  Mil- 
ler dam  in  September,  1846,  thus  stopping  plain- 
tift''s  mills.  An  indictment  against  the  defendants 
had  previously  been  tried,  with  the  result  stated  in 
a  previous  chapter.  The  defendants  plead  non  cul. 
and  that  the  plaintiffs  as  riparian  owners  had  no 
right  to  use  the  surplus  waters  of  the  Fort  Miller 
dam,  which  Lad  been  erected  in  1820  and  since  then 
maintained  -wrongfully  by  the  state  to  secure  slack 
water  navigation  on  the  Hudson  river  to  Fort 
Edward.  They  further  plead  that  the  river  was  a 
public'highway  and  the  dam  a  nuisance.  Judge 
Hand  charged  the  jury  that  the  state  had  the  right 
to  erect  and  maintain  the  dam,  and  that  the  court 
could  not  enquire  into  nor  question  its  purpose 
thei  ein.  That  the  state  having  built  the  dam  it 
could  not  be  deemed  a  nuisance  at  law.  That  the 
plaintiffs  being  riparian  proprietors  below  the  dam 


188  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

were  entitled  to  tlie  use  of  its  surplus  waters,  and 
were  entitled  to  damages.  The  jury  rendered  a 
verdict  for  $150  md  six  cents  costs.  This  inter- 
esting action,  involving  many  intricate  questions  of 
riparian  proprietorship,  is  reported  at  lengtli  in  9 
Barhour  350. 

At  the  same  circuit  was  tried  an  action  which 
well  illustrates  one  of  the  modes  of  practice  under 
the  common  law.  A  suit  had  been  bronght  by 
Robert  Whyllis  against  John  Gilchrist,  jr.,  in  a 
justice's  court  in  the  town  of  Charlton,  to  recover 
wages  earned  and  a  sum  of  money  lent.  It  'had 
been  pending  for  several  years  in  that  court  and 
the  Common  Pleas,  and  was  transferred  on  the 
demise  of  the  latter  to  the  Circuit.  It  had  its  final 
trial  before  Justice  Hand.  John  Brotherson,  for 
the  plaintiff,  had  associated  with  him  in  the  trial 
Edward  F.  Bullard  and  John  K.  Porter.  Mr.  Gil- 
christ had  employed  the  legal  firm  of  Beach  & 
Bockes  to  defend  his  cause.  The  question  hinged 
on  the  borrowed  money,  which  had  been  a  private 
transaction  between  the  parties,  and  it  was  denied, 
in  toto,  hj  the  defendant.  Neither  party  could  be 
witnesses,  so  Mr.  Brotherson  resorted  to  a  feigned 
issue  under  the  common  law.  A  suit  was  begun 
before  Thomas  G.  Young,  a  justice  of  the  peace  of 
Ballston,  in  fiivor  of  Samuel  DeForest  against  Har- 
mon Van  Voorhees  to  recover  a  sum  of  money  due 
as  "boot"  on  a  horse  trade  ;  it  being  alleged  that 
the  money  received  was  counterfeit  and  tliat  it  was 
the  same  paid  to  Van  Voorhees  by  Gilchrist,  who 


.      OF   SARATOGA    COUNTY.  189 

had  borrowed  it  of  Whyllis.  Gilchrist  was  sworn 
as  a  witness  in  this  suit  and  was  obliged  to  testify 
that  he  had  borrowed  money  of  Whyllis  at  the 
time  and  the  amount  alleged  and  tliat  it  was  genu- 
ine. Justice  Young  was  then  called  by  the  plain- 
tiff in  the  suit  of  Whyllis  against  Gilchrist,  and 
thus  the  missing  link  of  testimony  was  supplied, 
and  the  plaintiff  recovered  judgment.  The  statute 
enabling  parties  to  be  witnesses  has  obviated  any 
further  iiecessity  for  resorting  to  such  shrewd  prac- 
tice, which,  if  justitiable  at  all,  was  proper  under 
the  circumstances  attending  it. 

Among  the  early  cases  submitted  to  a  jury  under 
the  present  form  of  our  courts  was  that  of  Lydia 
Wait  against  William  Wait.  It  was  a  suit  in 
ejectment  to  recover  widow's  dower,  and  involved 
the  important  principle  whether  a  divorce  a  mnculo 
matrimonii  affected  the  right  of  a  wife's  dower 
interest  in  the  estate  of  her  husband  during  her 
coverture.  The  suit  was  brought  by  Edward  F. 
Buliard  as  attorney  for  Mrs.  Wait ;  and  the  defend- 
ant, whose  rights  were  about  to  be  invaded,  em- 
ployed John  K.  Porter  and  Nicholas  Hill,  jr.,  to 
defend  them  against  the  hostile  forces.  Mrs.  Wait 
had  been  divorced  from  lier  husband,  Joseph  Wait, 
by  a  divorce  in  chancery  entered  in  1825,  for  his 
unfaithfulness  to  his  marriage  vows.  He  died  in 
1845  in  possession  of  the  lands  which  formed  the 
basis  of  this  action,  and  they  descended  to  his  lieir 
at  law,  the  defendant.  It  was  tried  at  the  Novem- 
ber Circuit,  1847,  before  Justice  Paige.     The  facts 


190  THE   BENCH   AND   BAR 

stated  above  were  proved,  and  further  that  the 
decedent,  Joseph  Wait,  was  the  owner  of  the  lands 
in  question  prior  to  the  decree  of  divorce.  A  ver- 
dict was  found  by  the  jury  for  the  plaintiff ;  which, 
however,  was  set  aside  at  General  Term,  as  reported 
in  4  Barbour  192.  It  was  again  brought  to  trial  at 
the  December  Circuit,  1 848,  before  Justice  Cady, 
who  nonsuited  the  plaintiff.  An  appeal  was  then 
carried  to  the  Court  of  Appeals  by  Gen.  Bullard, 
where  the  non-suit  was  overruled,  and  the  law  as 
given  by  Judge  Paige  in  his  charge  on  the  first 
trial  was  sustained.  The  opinion  was  pronounced 
by  Judge  Ira  Harris,  who  held  that  a  husband' s 
offences  against  his  marital  vows  works  no  forfeit- 
ury  of  a  wife's  rights.  She  Is  entitled  to  a  support 
from  him  after  a  divorce  a  irinGulo  matrimonii 
under  the  Revised  Statutes  and,  therefore,  to  dower 
if  she^survives  him  ;  and  she  is  endowed  of  all 
lands  owned  by  him  during  her  coverture,  A  new 
trial  was  ordered,  a  settlement  was  effected.  This 
case,  in  which  Gen.  Bullard  gained  so  chivalrous 
a  triumph,  is  reported  in  4  Neio  York  Reports  9o. 
About  this  time  Judge  Bockes  in  the  County 
Court  held  a  principle  in  the  trial  of  an  action 
under  the  statute  of  summary  proceedings  to  enable 
a  landlord  to  remove  a  tenant  which  was  adopted 
by  the  Court  of  Appeals,  and  is  the  ruling  author- 
ity in  such  cases.  Israel  Young  brought  an  action 
in  the  County  Court  to  eject  Calvin  W.  Dake  from 
the  possession  of  his  store  at  Porter' s  Corners,  in 
Greenfield.     Dake  had,  on  the  thirteenth  of  March, 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  191 

1848,  hired  of  Young  liis  store  for  one  year  from 
April  1,  1849,  with  the  privilege  of  live,  at  a  yearly 
rental  of  $100.  The  lease  was  a  parole  one.  April 
3,  1849,  Young  commenced  summary  proceedings 
by  an  affidavit  that  Dake  held  over  and  continued 
in  possession  of  the  premises  against  his  landlord"  s 
consent.  Dake  replied  that  he  held  ov-r  by  per- 
mission.    It  was  brought  to  trial  at  the  April  term, 

1849,  and  Dake  proved  that  on  September  11,  1848, 
it  was  agreed  by  parole  between  him  and  Young 
that  he  should  occupy  the  premises  for  another 
year  from  April  1,  1849.  Judge  Bockes  held  that 
a  parole  lease  for  one  year  to  commence  at  a  future 
time  was  valid  under  the  statute,  and  the  jury  ren- 
dered a  verdict  for  the  defendant.  It  was  removed 
to  the  Supreme  Court  on  certiorari,  and  the  verdict 
was  affirmed.  An  appeal  was  then  taken  to  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  wliich  was  there  argued  by  Judge 
Warren  for  the  appellant  and  William  L.  Avery 
for  the  respondent,  and  the  verdict  was  again 
affirmed.  It  is  reported  in  5  New  York  Reports 
463. 

Next  in  order  of  actions  worthy  of  notice  in  this 
work  was  that  brought  by  Francis  Lewis  against 
the  Bensselaer  &  Saratoga  Railroad  Company. 
It  was  a  suit  for  damages  for  putting  the  plaintiff 
off  the  defendants'  cars  in  the  autumn  of  1849,  at  a 
point  remote  from  a  station.  Lewis  was  a  lad  of 
about  eighteen  years  (he  was  a  brother  of  Nelson 
Lewis,  the  Trojan  rifle  marksman)  living  at  Sara- 
toga Springs.      A  militia   brigade  training  (now 


192  THE   BETfCH   ATSTD   BAR. 

remembered  by  Saratogians  as  the  "Plunketwar") 
was  about  to  be  held,  and  young  Lewis  went  to 
Troy  and  bought  three  barrels  of  oysters  to  sell  on 
the  occasion.  This  exhausted  his  finances,  so  he 
secreted  himself  under  a  seat  on  the  Saratoga  train. 
He  was  discovered  by  conductor  Timothy  M.  Har- 
vey soon  after  leaving  Mechanicville,  who  stopped 
the  train  and  j)ut  Lewis  off  at  a  point  about  a  hun- 
dr<:'d  rods  above  Devoe'  s  crossing.  As  the  train 
started,  Lewis  again  attempted  to  get  on  the  car, 
but  fell  and  his  feet  were  crushed.  It  was  in  the 
evening,  but  his  cries  soon  brought  relief  and  he 
was  taken  to  the  residence  of  George  P.  Devoe. 
One  of  his  feet  was  amputated,  but  he  died  from 
the  effects  of  his  injuries  about  a  year  and  a  half 
later.  The  suit  was  brought  to  trial  at  the  October 
term,  1850,  before  Justice  Paige.  The  above  facts 
were  proved.  The  evidence  on  tlie  part  of  the 
plaintiff  that  he  was  thrown  from  the  train  by  con- 
ductor Harvey  as  lie  was  again  getting  on  the  car 
was  refuted  by  that  of  the  brakeman,  Michael  Cavan- 
augh,  and  George  Satterlee  of  Fort  Edward,  who 
was  a  passenger.  Young  Lewis'  case  was  prose- 
cuted by  Joseph  D.  Briggs  of  Saratoga  Springs, 
who  had  associated  with  him  William  Hay  and 
John  K.  Porter.  The  company's  attorneys  were 
William  A.  Beach  and  Job  Pierson.  The  court 
held  as  a  rule  of  law  that  the  defendant  was  liable 
for  putting  Lewis  off  the  ti'ain  at  a  point  not  a 
station,  and  charged  the  jury  that  they  might  take 
the  wrongful  acts  of  the  plaintiff  in  seeking  to 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  193 

obtain  a  siirreptitious  ride  into  consider  ition,  in 
mitigation  of  damages.  The  jury  found  a  verdict 
for  the  plaintiff  for  $65  and  costs.  The  rule  of  law 
now  is  that  conductors  may  put  passengers  who 
refuse  to  obey  the  rules  of  the  company  off  from 
the  train  at  a  point  near  any  farm  house. 

A  case  presenting  a  singular  feature  and  unparal- 
leled, as  far  as  the  author's  reading  extends,  in  r.he 
annals  of  American  jurisprudencje,  was  brought  to 
trial  before  the  October  Circuit,  1850,  presided  over 
by  Justice  Paige.  It  was  the  civil  action  brought 
under  the  code  by  Abiram  Fellows  and  David 
Fairbanks,  jr.,  of  Mechanicville,  against  John 
Emperor  and  Margaret  Sheridan,  otherwise  called 
Margaret  Emperor  of  Ballston  Spa,  and  Owen 
Sheridan  of  the  city  of  New  York,  to  set  asside  a 
conveyance  dated  August  7,  1848,  of  five  acres  of 
land  in  Ballston  Spa,  made  by  John  Emperor  to 
Owen  Sheridan,  in  trust  for  the  said  Margaret,  for 
the  consideration  of  $100.  Fellows  and  Fairbanks 
were  merchants  and  were  judgment  creditors  of 
Emperor.  They  sought  to  set  aside  the  convey- 
ance and  tnus  perfect  a  lien  on  Emperor's  real 
estate.  Gen.  Bullard  was  attorney  for  the  plain- 
tiffs, and  John  Lawrence  and  George  G.  Scott  for 
the  defendants.  On  the  trial  it  was  proved  that  in 
1824,  in  Ireland,  John  Emperor  was  married  to 
Margaret  Fitzgerald.  That  a  few  years  subse- 
quently he  deserted  his  wife  and  four  children  and 
came  to  New  York,  where,  in  1884,  he  married 
Margaret  Sheridan.  That  she  lived  with  him  until 
9 


194  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

1848,  believing  herself  to  be  his  lawful  wife,  and 
had   borne  him  six  children.     That  in  the  latter 
year  his  brother.   Christopher   Emperor,  came  to 
Ballston  Spa,  where  John  Emperor  was  working  as 
a  miller  in   the   employ   of  James   Ashman,    and 
exposed  the  fact  that   John   had   a   wife  living  in 
Ireland.     Margaret  Emperor,  as  she  was   known, 
then  applied  to  her  brother  Owen  Sheridan,  for 
advice  and,  after  consultation,  it  was  deemed  best  ^ 
that  the   premises  sliould  be  conveyed  to  liim  in 
trust  for  her  in  payment  for  lier  work  and  services 
as  housekeeper  during  the  time  she  supposed  her- 
self Emperor  s  wife.     Upon  this  state  of  facts  being 
proved  the  jury  found  a  verdict  for  the  defendants, 
'^^iJich  was  sustained  by  the  General  Term  in  May, 
1852.     The  case  so  far  is  reported  in  13  Barbour  42. 
Now  comes  the  most  singular  feature  of  the  case. 
Emperor  and  Margaret  continued  to  live  as  man 
and  wife  until  her  death,  September  25,  1855.     He 
then  married  a  woman  named  Catharine  Roach,  and 
lived  with  her  until  her  death.    Subsequent  to  this 
he  married,  by  civil  ceremony,  Catharine  Murphy. 
Father  McGeough,  the  Romish  priest  at  Ballston 
Spa,  refused  them  the  rites  of  the  church  to  sanc- 
tion their  union.     Emperor  died  from  the  effects  of 
a  fall  in  the  summer  of  1868,  leaving  an  estate  of 
several  hundred   dollars.     A  few  weeks  later  his 
discarded  wife,  Margaret  Fitzgerald,  came  from  Ire- 
land accompanied  by  her  surviving,  son,  Thomas 
Emperor,  and  they  claimed  the  property  as  legal 
heirs.     Their  claims  were  presented  to  Surrogate 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  195 

Waldron  by  Miller  &  Doyle  of  Cohoes,  and  were 
recognized  by  him.  Catherine  Murphy' s  claim  for 
work,  labor  and  services  as  housekeeper  for  Em- 
peror was  presented  by  Judge  Scott  and  allowed 
at  $100.  The  children  of  Margaret  Sheridan,  who 
had  earned  the  most  of  the  property  for  their  father 
during  their  minority,  were  thus  barred  out  from 
inheriting  it  by  the  law,  which  placed  the  bar 
sinister  upon  their  paternity. 

The  action  of  the  people  ex  rel.  George  G.  Scott 
and  Cyrus  Perry  against  Hiram  Carpenter  and 
Joseph  L.  Snow  which  was  heard  by  Justice  Wil- 
lard  at  the  February  Circuit,  1851,  involved  a  con- 
stitutional question  which  has  never  been  fully 
settled  by  an  appeal  to  the  court  of  last  resort. 
Messrs.  Ferry  and  Scott  had  ben  appointed  loan 
commissioners  by  Gov.  Bouck,  with  the  consf:^nt  of 
the  senate,  in  1848,  and  were  in  othce  on  the  second 
day  of  April,  1849,  when  Messrs.  Carpenter  and 
Snow  were  appointed  their  successors  by  Gov.  Fish, 
with  the  consent  of  the  senate.  They  filed  their 
bonds  and  demanded  the  books  and  papers.  The 
old  commissioners  refused  to  yield  them,  on  the 
ground  that  all  officers  not  specially  mentioned  in 
the  constitution  as  to  be  appointed  were  to  be 
elected  by  the  people  ;  and  they  denied  that  Car- 
penter and  Snow  luid  not  received  such  an  election. 
The  latter  brought  an  action  in  the  Supreme  Court 
to  gain  possession  of  the  books  and  papers  which 
was  tried  by  Justice  Cady  and  a  jury  at  the  Feb- 
ruary Circuit,  1849.     Tiie  new  commissioners  were 


196  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

represented  by  Abel  Meeker  and  James  B.  Mc- 
Kean,  and  the  old  boai-d  by  George  Gr.  Scott,  in 
person.  The  jury  found  tliat  Carpenter  and  S«iow 
were  not  duh'  appointed  according  to  law,  and 
rendered  a  verdict  for  the  defendants  A  manda- 
mus was  next  sued  out  by  the  claimants  before 
Justice  WilhT^rd.  After  hearing  the  arguments  of 
counsel,  he  denied  the  relief  prayed  for  in  the 
claimants'  petition,  July  12,  18-19.  Following  this, 
Carpenter  and  Snow  took  forcible  posi^ession  of 
the  books  and  papers,  and  the  suit  in  question  was 
then  brought  by  the  old  board  to  obtaii'  a  judicial 
decision  aud  relieve  themselves  of  all  responsibility 
in  the  matter.  The  people  were  represented  at  the 
trial  by  Attorney- General  Levi  S.  Cliatlield,  and 
the  defendants  by  Meeker  and  McKean.  A  jury 
waived  and  Judge  Willard  decided  that  under  the 
constitution  Messrs.  Carpenter  and  Snow,  not  hav- 
ing been  elected  to  th<4r  offic>  s.  were  not  legally 
in  possession.  The  legislature  ot  1850,  had  how- 
ever destroyed  the  gist  of  this  action  by  an  act 
abolishing  the  office  of  loan  commissioner,  and 
directed  that  the  books  and  papers  of  the  loans  of 
1792  and  1808  be  transferred  to  the  Commissioners 
of  United  States  Deposit  Fund  Loan,  who  at  that 
time  i.!  this  county  were  Messrs.  Calvin  W.  Dake 
and  George  B.  Powfill.  . 

At  the  following  October  term  Attorney- General 
Chattit'ld  was  calked  on  to  adjust  another  claim  to 
office  in  this  county.  At  the  town  meeting  in  1850, 
held  in  the  town  of  Providence,  an  equal  number 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  197 

of  votes  were  polled  for  .Tared  C.  Markliam  and 
Seneca  Deuel  for  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace. 
The  town  board  being  of  the  political  persuasion 
of  Mr.  Deuel  declared  him  elected.  Markham 
began  a  suit,  on  the  relation  of  the  people,  against 
Deuel  to  oust  the  latter  from  the  office.  In 
this  he  was  successful,  for  the  jury  found  that 
neither  were  elected,  and  Judge  Cady  declared  the 
office  vacant. 

It  has  been  said  that  in  the  economy  of  Nature 
some  men  are  designed  only  to  serve  the  valuable 
purpose  of  getting  into  the  clutches  of  the  law  by 
their  misdeeds,  and  then  to  do  good  service  in  fur- 
nishing subjects  for  the  courts  to  use  in  passing 
upon  the  unalienable  rights  of  free  citizens  when 
jeoperdized  by  thoughtless  magistrates.     Such  an 
one  appears  to  have  been  one  Rufus  B.  Pratt,  who 
lived  in  Ballston  Spa  about  a  quarter  of  a  century 
ago.     Pratt,  in  company  with  John  T.  Spicer  and 
Horatio  L.  Bliss,  became  intoxicated   and  riotous 
on  the  evening  of  Saturday,  Feb.  24,  1849.     Com- 
plaint was  made  to  Abel  Meeker,  a  justice  of  the 
peace  and  he  issued  a  warrant  for  their  arrest,  with 
the  following  endorsement :     "Commit  them  to  jail 
until  Monday  next  for  examination."     The  war- 
rant was  delivered  to  Harvey-  N.  Hill,  a  constable, 
who,  with  the  assistance  of  the  late  Daniel  D.  Jones, 
arrested  Pratt  and  took  him  to  the  jail,  wh^re  he 
was  confined,  against  his  will  of  course,  until  Mon- 
day.    He  began  an  action  for  assault  and  battery 
and  false  imprisonment  against  Meeker,  Hill  and 


198  THE   BEWCH   ATTD   BAR 

Jones,  by  his  attorneys  Jolin  Brotherson  and  Wil- 
liam B.  Li  tell.  William  A.  Beach  tried  the  suit 
for  the  defendants  at  the  June  Circuit,  1851.  before 
Justice  Cady.  The  jury  found  a  verdict  for  the 
plaintiff  for  $76  and  costs.  The  case  was  appealed 
to  the  General  Term,  and  is  reported  in  16  Barhoitr 
303,  where  the  report  of  the  opinion  of  the  Supreme 
Court  concludes  : 

"The  niagistnite  no  doubt  acted  t'rosii  an  honest  belief  that  be 
WHS  anUiorizcd  to  make  the  endorsf^ment  on  the  back  of  the  war 
rant.  But  it  was  an  exces-  of  jurisdiction,  and  wholly  illegal. 
The  law  watches  the  personal  liberty  of  the  citizen  with  vigilance 
and  jealousy ;  and  whoever  imprisons  another  in  this  country  must 
do  it  for  lawful  cause  and  in  a  legal  manner." 

The  action  brought  b}^  GeoGJge  Young,  jr.  against 
the  Washington  County  Mutual  Insurance  Com- 
pany which  was  tried  before  Justice  Willard  at 
the  June  term,  1852,  by  Frederick  S.  Root  for  the 
plaintiff  and  William  A  Beach  for  the  defendant, 
was  intended  to  recover  a  policy  issued  to  plaintiff 
by  the  defendant  for  $500,  on  his  dwelling  house, 
in  the  town  of  Greenfield.  From  the  printed  case, 
as  reported  in  14  Barbour  545,  I  learn  tliat  the 
plaintiff's  louse  was  burned  in  the  night  of  June 
18,  1850,  and  that  its  loss  was  occasioned  by  the 
burning  of  his  store,  then  in  process  of  erection  on 
the  site  of  the  former  store,  which  had  been  burned 
in  the  previous  March.  The  company  rejected  Mr. 
Young's  claim  un  account  of  said  rebuilding  of  his 
store,  holding  that  a  carpenter' s  risk  is  an  increased 
hazard,  and  one  that  they  did  not  assume  in  the 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  199 

issuance  of  the  policy.  The  plaintiff  proved  that 
due  care  had  been  used  on  his  part  to  prevent  the 
destruction  of  his  house  and  store.  J-udge  Willard 
held  that  the  plaintiff  was  entitled  under  the  policy 
to  rebuild  on  the  foundations  of  his  former  store, 
using  reasonable  care  against  accidents,  and  in  such 
case  was  entitled  to  recover.  Judgment  was  entered 
for  the  plaintiff  on  the  verdict  of  the  jury  for  $562.46 
and  costs,  which  was  affirmed  in  the  Supreme  Court 
at  General  Terra. 

Concerning  the  action  of  Hiram  FuUerton  against 
James  Yiall,  Isaac  T.  Grant  and  Samuel  A.  House 
there  is  a  mystery  which  probably  will  never  be 
fully  penetrated  until  all  secrets  are  revealed. 
Mr.  Fullerton  was  a  carpenter  and.  pattern  maker, 
who  worked  for  several  years  in  the  employ  of  the 
firm  of  Viall  &  House,  stove  founders,  at  Mechan- 
icville.  Believing  them  honorable  and  trustworthy, 
he  had  placed  quite  a  large  sum  of  money  in  their 
hands  and  taken  their  note.  But  he  found,  as  did 
many  others,  his  confidence  abused  when  the  firm 
became,  through  mismanagement,  hopelessly  bank- 
rupt and  made  a  general  assignment,  September  1, 
1851.  Viall  had  to  save  a  portion  of  his  private 
property  from  the  general  wreck,  which  was 
believed  to  be  no  fault  of  his,  previous  to  the  assign- 
ment deeded  his  residence  to  his  brother-in  law, 
Isaac  T.  Grant.  Fullerton  and  other  creditors  soon 
placed  their  claims  in  the  form  of  judgments  of  the 
Supreme  Court.  His  attorney  in  these  proceedings 
was  his  brother-in-law,  James  B.  Houghtailiog,  of 


200  THE  BENCH   AIST)   BAK 

West  Troy.     In  1852,   lie  began  an  action  against 
Viall  and  Grant  to  set  aside  the  conveyance  as  fraud- 
ulent and  made  vvitJi  intent  to  defraud  creditors  of 
the  bankrupt  firm.     His  attorneys   were  Isaac  C. 
Orrasby  and  Edward  F.  Bullard.     The  defense  had 
secured  the  eminent  legal  firm  of  Pierson,  Beach  & 
Smith  of  Troy,     The  complaint  alleged  that  Viall 
executed  the  conveyance  with  intent  to  defraud  his 
creditors,  and  that  Grant  accepted  such  deed  know- 
ing its  nature  and  with  due  notice  of  plaintiff's 
claim  ;  and  that  but  for  such   conveyance   plain- 
tiff's judgment  against  Yiall  and  House  would  be 
a  lien  against  such  real  estate,  and  asked  tliat  the 
conveyance  be  declared  null  and  void.     It   was 
tried  at  the  June  term,  1854,  before  Justice  Hand. 
The  j  ury  found  a  verdict  for  the  plaintiff,   and  a 
judgment  setting  aside  the  deed  from  Viall  to  Grant 
and  awarding  §1,905  damages  was  entered  on  motion 
his  counsel,  June  8,  1864.     The  defendants  asked 
leave  to  file  a  bill  of  exceptions,  which  was  granted 
to  be  heard  in  ^  he  first  instance  at  the  General  Term. 
It   was   affirmed   b}^   the   Saratoga  General  Term, 
December  31, 1855.    The  Court  of  Appeals  affirmed 
the  verdict  June  19, 1858.     The  full  case  and  points 
are  filed  in  the  State  Library,  Volume  73,  case  No. 
9 ;  also,  it  may  be  found  reported  in  42  Hotoard 
294.     The  mystery  connected  with  the  case  was  the 
disap])earance  of  FuUerton  in  the  summer  of  1855. 
He  v\as  an  unmarried,  middle  aged  man  of  steady, 
industrious  habits,  and  possessed  of  considerable 
means.     He  left  his  home  in  Stillwater  to  go  to  the 


OF  8AKATOOA  COUNTT.  201 

West,  He  was  last  seen,  by  any  one  who  knew 
him  and  has  disclosed  his  whereabouts,  a  few  days 
later  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  by  Mrs.  Ellen  Swartwout, 
with  whom  he  formerly  boarded  in  Mechanicville. 
He  called  at  her  house  and  told  her  that  he  was 
en-route  to  Chicago,  and  was  to  take  the  boat  that 
evening.  He  belonged  to  an  eccentric  family,  an  I 
some  of  his  relatives  entertain  the  idea  that  he  is 
yet  alive.  To  support  the  idea,  they  quote  the  fact 
that  a  bachelor  uncle  of  his,  Richard  Fullerton, 
mysteriously  absented  himself  and  after  the  long 
interval  of  forty -five  years,  he  returned  to  his  old 
home  in  Stillwater  to  his  brother  who  had  long 
mourned  his  ''lost  Derrick"  as  dead.  Conceding 
that  Fullerton  has  "gone  before,"  Viall  is  the  only 
survivor  of  the  parties  to  this  action.  He  was 
completely  wrecked  in  fortune  by  this  judgment. 
Like  men  similarly  treated  by  the  "lickle  goddess" 
he  was  ruined  by  over  weening  contidence  in  the 
men  with  whom  he  was  associated  and  the  times  in 
which  he  was  actively  engaged  in  paddling  his  bark 
across  the  whirlpool  of  business.  Crippled  alike  in 
body  and  fortune,  he  finds  a  home  with  a  brother 
who  has  been  more  successful  in  the  battle  of  life. 
Grant  had  previous  to  this  suit  sold  the  premises  to 
Elisha  Howland,  a  bona  fide  purchaser.  And,  the 
judgment  in  this  action  established  the  principle 
that  the  moneys  received  from  such  purchaser  may 
be  recovered  from  the  seller.  It  was  so  recovered 
from  Grant  on  an  execution,  and  paid  to  the  admin- 
istrator appointed  on  Fullerton' s  estate. 


202  THE   BENCH   AND   BAR 

At  the  May  term,  1656,  was  tried  a  case  which 
carries  us  back  beyond  the  Rev^olution,  and  brings 
prominently  to  view  two  men  who  were  active  par- 
ticipants in  "the  days  that  tried  men's  souls"  — 
Col.  Peter  (lanzevoort,  the  hero  of  Fort  Stanwix, 
and  Major  Hugh  Munro,  the  tory  leader  of  a  raid 
in  the  town  of  Ballston,  the  mention  of  whose  name 
causes  the  b}ood  to  tingle  in  the  veins  of  the  descend- 
ants of  th()S(3  upon  whom  he  visited  his  atrocities. 
It  was  the  suit  of  George  F.  Munro,  a  gi  andson  of 
of  the  partisan  leader,  against  Elijah  Merchant  of 
Moreau,  brought  to  eject  him  from  a  part  of  lot  3 
in  the  20th  allotment  of  the  patent  of  Kayaderos- 
seras.  Both  parties  claimed  to  possess  a  valid  title 
derived  from  Rip  Van  Dam,  one  of  the  patentees. 
The  plaintiff's  attorneys  were  George  F.  Munger 
of  Rochester,  and  Theodore  F.  Pomeroy  of  Auburn. 
They  were  assisted  b}^  Deodatus  Wright  and  Clark 
B.  Cochrane.  In  the  higher  courts,  to  which  the 
case  was  carried,  they  had  the  counsel  of  Judge 
Sanford  E.  Church.  Against  them  William  A. ' 
Beach  was  pitted,  single  handed  af-ter  the  election 
of  Judge  Rosekrans  to  the  Supreme  Court  bench. 
Munro  claimed  title  by  will  of  Van  Dam,  empow- 
ering his  executors  to  sell  his  real  estate.  Secondly, 
a  deed  from  Robert  Livingston,  jr.,  surviving  exec- 
utor, to  Jacob  Walton,  Isaac  Low  and  Anthony 
Van  Dam,  dated  October  24,  1771,  conveying  all 
of  Van  Dam's  interest  in  the  patent.  Thirdly,  a 
deed  from  Walton,  Low  and  Vai:  Dam  to  Hugh 
Munro,  August  30,  1774.     Fourthly,  the  death  of 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  203 

Hugh  Munro  at  Edwardsburgh,  Canada,  leaving 
an  only  son    Hugh  Miinio,  father  of  the  plaintiff. 
Fifthly,  the  birth  of  the  plaintiff  at  Ballston  Spa, 
in  1804.     Munro  at  th(^  time  of  this  action  lived  in 
Rochester.     The  defendant' s  title  was  based  on  a 
deed  from  Gerard  AValton,  attorney  for  Anthony 
Van  Dam  (though  no  power  of  attorney  could  be 
proven),  to  Peter  Ganzevoort,  June  17,  1797,  and 
the  inheritance  of  the  lands  by  his  sons,  Herman 
and  Peter  Ganzevoort,  on  his  demise.     Secondly, 
a  deed  from  the  Ganzevoorts  to  Ransom  Sutphiu  in 
1841,  who  conveyed  the  lands  to  defendants  in  1848. 
Thirdly,  the   alienage  of  the  plaintiff  and  Hugh 
Munro,  father  and  son.     A  judg:iient  was  entered 
for  the  plaintiff,  pro  forma,  at  the  May  term,  1856, 
held  by  Justice  James.      It  was  affirmed  in  the 
General  Term,  and  an  appeal  was  taken  by  the 
defendant  to  the  court  of  last  resort.     In  the  Court 
of  Appeals  it  was  held  that  Major  Munro  was  a 
British  subject  who  lived  near  Fort  Miller  at  the 
outbreak  of  hostilities.     He  adhered  to  the  crown 
and  went  to  Canada.     That  Hugh  Munro,  jr.  was 
also  a  British  subject  by  his  own  acknowledgment. 
That  the  plaintiff,  having  been  born  in  this  state, 
was  a  citizen,  although  his  mother  simply  came  to 
Ballston  Spa  for  that  purpose  and  returned  with 
her  child  to  Canada.     That  Hugh  Munro,  sr.  was 
never  attainted  of  treason,  hence  his  heirs  could 
inherit  and  hold  against  all  others  except  the  state. 
That  the  claim  of  adverse  possession,  only  showing 
the  cutting  of  timber  on  the  premises,  was  not 


204  THE  BElfCH  AND  BAH. 

clearly  proven  ;  but,  as  it  gave  a  shadow  of  title  a 
new  trial  was  granted.  The  claim  was  then  com- 
promised. The  case  is  fully  reported  in  26  Bar' 
hour  383  and  28  Neio  YorTc  Reports  9.  Munro  also 
brought  an  ejectment  suit  against  Peter  Ganzevoort, 
the  younger,  to  dispossess  him  of  the  well  known 
Ganzevoort  estate.  He  was  non -suited  in  the  June 
term,  1855,  by  Judge  James.  The  General  Term 
reversed  the  non-suit,  and  on  the  trial  in  the  Sep- 
tember term,  1864,  before  Judge  Bockes,  the  de- 
fendant proved  a  clear  case  of  adverse  possession 
and  the  complaint  was  dismissed  with  costs. 

An  interesting  case  of  great  value  to  assessors  in 
assessing  personal  property  was  tried  at  the  May 
term,  1856,  before  Justice  James.  It  was  the  civil 
action  brought  by  John  G.  Young  and  others 
against  the  assessors  of  the  town  of  Hadley  to  vacate 
an  assessment  of  the  personal  property  of  the  plain- 
tiff's made  by  Jefferson  Jeifers  and  his  associates  of 
the  board  of  assessors  in  June,  1854.  The  plain- 
tiff's had  come  from  Ossipee,  N.  H.,  in  April,  1854, 
and  taken  a  contract  in  the  town  of  Hadley  on  the 
Sara.toga  and  Sack«^tt's  Harbor  railroad.  They 
brought  tlieir  families  with  them  and  established 
their  residence  in  the  town,  temporarily,  as  they 
claimed.  Their  pergonal  property  was  assessed,  a 
tax  was  levied  md  tJie  town  collector,  by  order  of 
the  defendants,  made  a  distress  on  their  premises 
and  their  property  was  sold.  The  defendants  now 
brought  an  action  for  relief  by  A.  J.  Cheritree, 
attorney.     The  defendants  were  represented  at  the 


OF  SAEATOGA  COUNTY.  205 

trial  by  Alembert  Pond  and  Judge  Hay.  Under 
the  direction  of  the  court  the  jury  found  the  plain- 
tiffs were  bona  fide  residents  of  the  town  at  the  date 
of  the  assessment,  and  rendered  a  general  veidict 
for  the  defendants. 

An  interesting  case  involving  the  competency  of 
evidence  was  the  civil  action  of  Erastus  Davison 
against  Philip  J.  Powell,  tried  in  our  county  in 
1857.  This  was  an  action  to  recover  an  unpaid  bal 
ance  for  sawing  defendant's  lumber,  at  the  plain- 
tiff's mill  at  Jobville  in  the  town  of  Stillwater, 
with  a  bill  o  items  annexed  and  verified.  The 
defendant  denied  the  allegations  of  the  complaint 
as  to  the  days  and  extent  of  work  ;  and  plead 
waste  of  lumber  to  the  amount  of  from  14,000  to 
15,000  feet,  valued  at  from  $200  to  $300.  Judgment 
was  entered  for  the  plaintiff  for  $108.73.  1.  C. 
Ormsby,  for  plaintiff ;  E.  F.  Bullard,  for  defendant. 
A  bill  of  exceptions  was  filed  in  the  Supreme  Court 
on  alleged  errors  in  the  admission  of  incompetent 
testimony.  The  General  Term  held  that  the  defend- 
ant's  answer  was  merely  a  negative  pregnant,  form- 
ing no  issue  that  denied  the  correctness  of  plain- 
tiff's  complaint.  It  also  held  that  the  memoranda 
of  a  savvyer  kept  on  boards  and  copied  accurately 
in  a  book  is  a  book  of  original  entries,  and  that  the 
copy  is  competent  evidence.     16  Howard  467. 

Lewis    DeGroft'   against    the    American    Linen 
Thread  Company  was  the  title  of  an  action  brought 
by  the  plaintiff',  who  was  a  merchant  doing  busi- 
ness in  Mechanic ville.     It  was  twice  heard  at  Cir- 
9* 


200  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

cuit  and  sent  back  by  the  General  Term  to  the 
Circuit  for  trial.  It  was  finally  tried  at  the  Jan- 
uary term,  1857,  before  Justice  Rosekrans.  Gen. 
BuUard  was  plaintiif's  attorney,  and  Judge  Bockes 
and  Deodatus  Wright  were  employed  by  the  defend- 
ant. It  was  an  action  for  breach  of  contract.  The 
defendant,  a  corooration  doing  business  under  the 
laws  of  this  state  at  Mechanicville,  had  in  its 
employ  a  large  number  of  persons  Previous  to 
March  1,  1858,  it  had  conducted  a  general  store 
and  control'-d  the  patronage  of  its  employees  to 
a  great  extent.  On  that  day,  the  trustees  of  the 
corporation  leased  the  store  and  sold  their  stock  of 
goods  to  the  plaintiff,  one  of  the  conditions  being 
that  they  should  carry  the  general  trade  of  the 
employees  of  the  company  to  the  plaintiff;  and  in 
case  of  a  failure,  the  sum  of  $3l)U  was  stated  in  the 
contract  as  liquidated  damages.  Abriam  Fellows, 
a  rival  merchant,  soon  after  was  elected  one  of  the 
trustees  of  the  company  and  succeeded- in  diverting 
the  trade  to  his  store.  On  proof  of  this  statement 
of  facts  the  plaintiff  rested  his. case.  The  defendant 
plead  that  the  trade  had  not  been  divei'ted  ;  that 
the  trustees  had  no  authority  to  mak(^  such  a  con- 
tract and  seek  to  bind  their  successors  ;  and,  that 
it  was  void  as  agaijist  public  policy.  A  verdict 
was  rendered  for  plaintiff  for  $875.  The  Judgment 
was  reversed  at  G<Mieral  Term,  but  it  was  affirmed 
in  the  Court  of  Appt?als.  It  is  reported  in  21  New 
York  Reports  124.  The  General  Term  by  Justice 
James,  Rosekrans  concurring,  held  that  the  plaintiff 


OP  9ABATOOA   OOUTfTY.  307 

ou^ht  to  be  non-snited  and  that  there  were  five  points 
in  the  case  either  of  which  was  fatal  to  the  plain- 
tiff. As  the  case  had  aire  idy  been  tried  three  times, 
Gen.  Billiard  took  the  risk  of  going  direct  to  the 
CoiTrt  of  Appeals  instead  of  going  back  for  a  new 
trial  an<l  non-suit.  In  order  to  take  the  step  the 
plaintiff  had  to  stipulate  that  he  would  risk  final 
judgment  against  him  if  Justice  James  was  right 
on  any  point.  Judge  A.  B.  Olin  and  John  Law- 
rence in  the  early  stages  were  counsel  for  the 
defendants. 

Another  substantial  victory  was  won  by  Gfen. 
Bullard  in  the  action  brought  by  Nancy  Mors 
against  Elisha  Mors,  William  H.  Mors  and  Henry 
G.  Ludlow.  It  was  brought  to  recover  a  wife's 
ii  choate  dower  interest  in  certain  lands  in  Water- 
ford,  which  she^had  conveyed  away  by  a-  deed  to 
which  her  signature  was  obtained  under  false  and 
fraudulent  pretenses  made  by  her  husband,  Joshua 
Mors,  that  he  wished  to  sell  his  real  estate  and 
remove  to  the  west  with  his  family.  A  fter  securing 
her  signature  to  the  conveyances,  he  went  west  and 
procured  a  "Chicatjo"  divorce.  The  suit  was 
brought  to  trial  in  the  September  term,  18.58,  before 
JudgQ  James.  The  defendants  were  represented 
by  Pierson,  Beach  and  Smith  of  Troy  and  had  the 
counsel  of  Judge  Romejm.  The  jury  found  from 
the  evidence  that  prior  to  the  acceptance  of  the 
deed  defendants,  Elisha  Mors  and  Henry  G.  Lud- 
low had  knowledge  of  Joshua  Mors'  intention  to 
desert  his  family.     That  Joshua  Mors  executed  the 


208  THE  BENCH  AKD  BAB 

deed  to  Elisha  Mors  July  5,  1856,  with  intent  to 
abandon  his  wife  and  child,  and  that  he  secured  her 
signature  by  fraudulent  representations.  That 
Elisha  Mors  was  cognizant  to  this  fraud  when  he 
took  the  deed,  and  that  William  H.  Mors  knew  of 
the  same  when  he  took  the  deed  of  the  premises  from 
Elisha  Mors,  March  2, 1857.  The  jury  founda  ver 
diet  for  the  plaintiff  to  endow  her  of  her  inchoate 
rights  in  the  lands  thus  fraudulently  conveyed, 
and  that  the  amount  of  her  alimory  be  collected 
from  the  property.  The  Court  of  Appeals  by  this 
decision  established  the  con-ect  principle  that  a 
wife  can  attach  a  fraudulent  conveyance  made  by 
her  husband  with  intent  to  defraud  her  of  her  sup 
port  and  rights,  the  same  as  a  creditor. 

In  January,  1860,  Seymour  Chase,  proprietor  of 
the  Ballston  Atlas,  a  newspaper  then  publislied  at 
the  county  seat,  by  the  direction  of  David  Max- 
well, then  clerk  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  pub- 
lished in  it  the  'Abstracts  of  Town  A(;counts  for 
1859,"  which  the  law  requires  the  clerk  to  print  in 
some  newspaper.  He  charged  the  county,  accord- 
ing to  the  thi^n  legal  rates,  li.'iy  cents  per  folio  for 
one  insertion,  atnoantingto --^O').  Tie  submitted  his 
bill  to  the  supervisors  in  186!).  and  it  was  audited 
by  them  at  $;iO.  He  accepted  tiiis  sum  under  pro- 
test, and  began  an  action  in  a  justice's  court  against 
the  "County  of  Saratoga"  for  the  balance.  He 
recovered  a  judgment  which  was  affii-med  by  Judge 
Crane  in  the  County  Court.  An  Appeal  was  then 
taken  to  the  Supreme  Court  which  was  heard  in 


OP  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  909 

General  Term  in  May,  1861.  After  hearing  Charles 
S.  Lester  for  the  appellant,-  and  Seymour  Chase, 
appellee,  in  person,  that  tribunal  decided  that  the 
action  was  wrongly  entitled.  Actions  against  the 
county  can  only  be  brought  against  the  supervisors 
of  the  county.  It,  however,  passed  upon  the  mer- 
its of  the  action.  While  the  statute  of  1847  named 
fifty  cents  per  folio  as  the  price  of  the  first  insertion 
of  a  legal  notice,  it  clearly  meant  it  to  be  the 
extent  oi  the  price  and  left  in  the  power  of  the 
auditing  board  to  award  a  lower  sum.  The  super- 
visors are  authorized  by  statute  to  audit  such 
claims.  They  having  acted  in  a  judicial  capacity, 
their  work  is  not  reviewable  by  this  court.  Relief 
might  have  been  sought"  by  a  mandamus  against 
the  supervisors.  Judgment  reversed.  33  Barhour 
603. 

Actions  against  sheriffs  are  frequently  brought 
to  recover  alleged  damages  arising  from  the  seizure 
of  one  person' s  property  on  an  execution  against 
another.  From  the  list  found  in  the  minutes  of 
our  Circuit  Court  I  have  selected  the  suit  of  Lorenzo 
Baker  against  George  B.  Powell,  sheriff,  as  furnish- 
ing the  most  interesting  features.  It  was  tried  in 
May,.  1861,  before  Justice  Rosekrans  and  a  jury. 
I.  C.  Ormsby  was  plaintiff's  attorney,  and  E.  F. 
Bullard,  the  defendant's.  The  action  arose  from 
the  following  facts :  Baker,  the  plaintiff,  had  a 
chattel  mortgage  on  a  stallion  team  owned  by  Rev. 
John  P.  McDermott,  Romish  priest  at  Mechanic- 
viUa.   iLbrajNL  L.  Brewster,  a  deputy  slieriff,  lio^ed 


210  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

the  team  on  an  execution  against  Father  McDermott. 
While  the  horses  were  in  his  possession  under  the 
levy  he  used  them  in  his  private  business,  and  one 
of  the  horses  died.  The  plaintiff,  as  mortgagee, 
then  brought  suit  against  sheriff  Powell,  alleging 
that  his  mortgage  interest  had  been  sacrificed 
through  the  culpable  negligence  of  Brewster,  the 
deputy  sheriff.  On  the  trial  it  was  proven  that 
McDermott  was  a  fast  and  reckless  driver  of  the 
team  while  in  his  hands,  and  that  Brewster  used 
ordinary  care  of  them  while  he  had  them  after  the 
levy.  The  jury  found  that  Brewster  exercised  the 
care  of  the  horses  required  by  ordinary  prudence, 
and  that  they  were  not  injured  by  him  in  his  pri- 
vate business.  Judgment  was  entered  against  the 
plaintiff  for  costs. 

At  the  same  term  was  tried  the  action  brought  by 
Charles  Neilson  against  Abraham  Post,  executor 
of  Israel  Post,  deceased.  The  plaintiff's  attorneys 
were  Hon. Ira  Shafer  and  ex-judge  Deodatus  Wright 
of  Albany.  The  defendant  had  the  aid  and  counsel 
of  ex -judges  Crane  and  McKean,  and  William  T. 
Odell.  The  action  was  brought  to  recover  a  sum 
of  money  lent  by  Neilson  to  the  decedent,  of  which 
he  had  as  evidence  a  note  for  $200.  The  defendant 
denied  that  his  father,  Israel  Post,  ever  executed 
the  note  ;  and  sought  to  prove  that  the  old  gentle- 
man, several  years  previous  to  his  death,  had 
divided  his  property  among  his  heirs,  and  made 
his  home  with  one  of  his  sons,  and  was  not  in  the 
need  of  negotiating  loans  at  the  time  alleged  in  the 


OF  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  211 

note.  The  plaintiff  testified  very  circumspectly  to 
the  occurrence  of  the  loaning  of  the  money  and  the 
giving  of  the  note, and  the  signature  was  pronounced 
genuine  by  many  persons  residing  in  Stillwater,  who 
were  acquainted  with  the  handwriting  of  Israel  Post. 
One  of  his  sons  testified  directly  that  it  was  a  for- 
gery of  his  father' s  signature;  but,  under  the  search- 
ing and  ingenious  cross-examination  to  which  he 
was  submitted  by  Mr.  Shafer,  it  transpired  that  his 
self  interest  blinded  his  eyes,  so  that  at  one  exhibi- 
tion of  a  recognized  genuine  signature  of  his  father 
he  said  it  was  genuine,  and  on  another  he  said  it 
was  not.  Defendant' s  counsel  objected  to  this  mode 
of  cross-examination,  but  Judge  Rosekrans  per- 
mitted it  as  allowable  under  the  circumstances,  as 
tie  witness  was  making  a  grave  charge  against  a 
worthy  old  man.  Mr.  Neilson  was  the  well-known 
author  of  a  "History  of  Burgoyne's  Campaign." 
Judge  Wright  then  summed  up  the  case  in  his  hap- 
piest vein,  mixing  law  and  satire,  argument  and 
denunciation  in  unstinted  terms.  It  was  his  last 
appeal  to  a  jury  of  his  native  county,  and  it  was 
an  effectual  one.  The  jury  found  a  verdict  for  the 
plaintiff*  for  $356.45  and  costs. 

Next  of  importance  is  the  ejectment  suit  brought 
by  William  V.  Clark  and  Clark  J.  Rice  against 
John  O.  Lyon.  The  plaintiff  claimed  title  by  con- 
veyance granted  under  the  patent  to  John  Glenn 
and  forty-four  others.  The  land  in  suit  was  a  one 
hundred  acre  farm  in  the  town  of  Edinburgh. 
There  was  no  evidence  that  the  plaintiffs,  or  their 


212  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

grantors,  had  ever  made  any  improvements  on  the 
place,  or  been  in  personal  possession  other  than  by 
deed.  The  defendant  proved  title  by  a  warranty 
deed  from  his  grantor,  and  a  peaceable  possession 
for  nearly  forty  years,  during  which  period  his 
title  had  been  unquestioned,  and  he  had  reduced  a 
large  part  of  the  farm  to  a  state  of  cultivation.  He 
claimed  that  if  his  grantor  was  a  "  squatter  "  it  was 
unknown  to  him,  and  could  not  at  this  time  work 
to  his  prejudice.  Joseph  Covel,  John  M.  Carroll 
and  William  Grieason  were  the  plaintiff' s  attorneys. 
The  defense  was  entrusted  to  Gen.  George  S.  Batch- 
eller  and  Alembert  Pond.  It  was  tried  at  the  De- 
cember term,  1861,  before  Judge  Rosekrans,  who 
held  that  a  clear  case  of  adverse  possession  was 
established  by  thf'  defendant's  pleadings  and  evi- 
dence, and  granted  the  non-suit  asked  for  by  his 
counsel. 

On  the  principle  that  "Eternal  vigilance  is  the 
price  of  Liberty,"  and  consequently  their  solvency, 
insurance  companies  are  prone  to  question  the  pro- 
priety of  many  of  their  policies  on  risks  taken  by 
their  agents  when  called  on  to  adjust  a  claim  after 
a  fire  has  terminated  the  existence  of  the  property 
insured.  Particularly  so,  if  there  has  anything 
transpired  to  furnish  a  clue  to  evidence  tlmt  the 
part}^  assured  had  imposed  upon  the  company,  or 
its  agent,  at  the  time  of  the  assuming  of  the  risk, 
or,  subsequently,  as  it  may  happen.  Such  was  the 
case  assumed  to  exist  when  the  Indemnity  Fire 
Insurance  Company  of  New  York  ;  the  Hope  Fire 


OF  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  213 

Insurance  Company,  do.  ;  and  the  Manhattan  Fire 
Insurance  Company,  do.,  refused  to  adjust  and  pay 
the  policies  issured  by  them  to  Patriclv  Kelly  of 
Waterford,  on  certain  propert}^  in  Chicago,  which 
had  been  d(-stroyed  by  lire  July  13,  1861.  A  test 
suit,  entitled  ''Patrick  Kelly  against  the  Indemnity 
Insura,:ce  Company,"  was  tried  in  our  county,  in 
the  September  term,  1862,  before  Justice  James  and 
ajury.  The  plaintitf  was  represented  by  Robert 
Sewell,  attorney,  and  William  A.  Beach,  counsel. 
The  Indemnity  Insurance  Company  had  for  its  at- 
torney ex- Judge  Gilbert  Dean, the  Hope  Insurance 
Compau}^  was  represented  by  Frederick  A.  Conk- 
ling  and  the  Manhattan  Insurance  Company  by  E. 
H.  Bowne.  The  plaintiff  presented  his  policy  and 
proof  of  loss  in  evidence.  The  defense  was  that 
til.  fir  ■  originated  in  the-  third  story  of  the  building 
in  u  gambling  saloon,  which  was  kept  there  with 
the  knowledge  of  the  plaintiff  and  without  that  of 
the  defendant,  or  its  agent.  Secondly,  that  the 
goods  in&ured  were  the  property  of  defendant's  son- 
in  law,  and  fraudulently  insured  in  Kelly's  name. 
Finally,  that  a  portion  of  the  goods  belonged  to  a 
Boston  boot  and  shoe  hi  in,  and  were  held  to  be 
sold  on.  commission,  and  that  the  plaintiff  had 
fraudulently  altered  his  books  to  conceal  that  fact. 
After  hearing  the  evidence,  the  jury  found  a  verdict 
for  the  plaintiff  for  $2,708,  and  judgment  was 
entered  for  that  sum  and  costs  by  his  attorney. 
This  judgment  was  affirmed,  both  at  the  General 
Term  and  the  Court  of  Appeals.     The  case  is  re- 


214  THE  BEWOH  ATTD  BAR 

ported  in  38  JVew    YorTc    Reports^   322.     Subse- 
quently, Kelly  received  judgments  against,  the  Man- 
hattan  Insurance   Company   for  $2,946.  72  ;  and 
against  the  Hope  Insurance  company  for  $5,276.57. 
In  the  year  1861,  one  Isaac  Baker,  a  judgment 
debtor,  was  committed  to  the  county  jail  on  an  exe- 
cution against  his  body.   Subsequently  he  executed 
a  bond  to  Sheriff  Powell,  with  William  F.  Row- 
land, surety,    conditioned   to   pay    the   judgment 
against  him  if  he  absented  himself  from  the   "lim- 
its"   until    discharged    therefrom   by   law.      The 
sheriff,  understanding  that    it  was  a   judgement 
recovered  in  justice's  court,  tiled  the  petition  and 
bond  and  released  Baker,  who  at  once  absconded. 
Powell,  finding  that  it  was  a  judgment  in  the  Su- 
preme Court,  then  began  a  suit  on  the  bond  against 
Rowland  by  Chapman  &  L'Amoreaux,  his  attor- 
nej^s.     An  answer  was  filed  by  C.  S.  Lester,  defend- 
ant's  attorney,  pleading  that  Baker's  was  a  volun- 
tary escape  with  the   consent  of  the  sheriff.     The 
action  was  tried  at  the  January  term    1863,  befoi'e 
Justice   Piatt   Potter.     The  jury   found   that  the 
sheriff  was  blameless  in  the  matter,  and  judgment 
was  rendered  in  his  favor  for  $296.40  damages  and 
costs. 

The  suit  brought  by  Antha  A.  Wait  against 
Joseph  R.  Wait,  tried  at  the  January  term,  1863  ; 
and  of  the  same  plaintiff  against  David  W.  "Wait, 
tried  at  the  same  term,  cover  about  the  same 
grounds,  and  may  be  embraced  in  ihe  same  para- 
graph.    The  former  was  brought  to  annul  an  as- 


OP  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  215 

signment  of  property  made  by  Antha  A.  Wait  to 
Joseph  R.  Wait,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  exe- 
cuted through  fear  other  husband,  David  W.  Wait. 
A  verdict  was  rendered  for  the  pkiintiff  on  the  trial. 
At  Special  Term  before  Jastice  Potter,    the  same 
month,  in  another  action  between  tlie  same  parties, 
a  decree  was  entered  setting^  aside  a  deed  executed 
by  Antha  A.  Wait  to  Joseph  R.  Wait  recorded  in 
Book  92  of  deeds,  pag^  377,  on  proof  of  the  same 
state   of  duress.     E.    F.   BuUard  was  attorne}^  for 
Mrs.  Wait,  and  John  Brot  herson  and  Clement  C. 
Hill  for  the   defendant.     The   action   brought  by 
Mrs.  Wait  against  her  husband    was  to   obtain  a 
divorce  a  mensa  et  tlioro^  on  account  of  alleged 
excessive  cruelty  on  his  part,  rendering  it   unsafe 
for  her  to   live  with  him.     Mr.   Bullard  w^as  her 
attorney  in   this  action,    also.      The   defendant's 
attorneys,  John   Brotherson  and  Clement  C.  Hill, 
plead  a  general  denial,  and  set  up  a  counter  claim 
for  a  divorce  a  vinculo  matrimonii  from  defendant, 
alleging  that  she  had  proved  unfaithful  to  her  mar- 
riage vow  of  chastity.     The  defense  was  ignomini- 
ously  routed  on  the  trial,  and  the  ]\\vy  rendered  a 
verdict  for  the  plaintitf  for  the  relief  demanded  in 
her  complaint.     The  court  entered  a  decree  setting 
aside   to  her  use  her  personal  estate  and  certain 
articles  of  personal  property,  named  in  the  decree, 
and  ordered  that  the  defendant  execute  a  bond  to 
pay   the  defendant  seventy  dollars  yearly  as  ali- 
mony, in  half  yearly  payments.     This  he  entirely 
neglected  to  do,  and,  on  measures  being  taken  to 


216  THE  BEITCH  AND  BAR. 

compel  his  performing  the  same,  he  found  Jones- 
ville  to  be  an  unhealthy  section  and  since  1863  he 
has  been  "watching  and  wailing  over  the  border," 
residing  at  Harlow,  Frontenac   county,   Ontario, 
excepting  when  making  surreptitious  visits  to  the 
States.     An  execution  against  Mr.    Wait  having 
been  returned  unsatisfied,  Mr,  Bullard  had  George 
L.  Terry  appointed  receiver  in  proceedings  supple- 
mentary, and  commenced  a  suit  in  his  name  against 
William   Wait  and  John  Martin  to  collect  a  note 
held  by  David  W.  Wait  against   William  Wait, 
originally  drawn  for  $3,900,  on  which  $2,500  was 
yet  due.     The  defendant,  William  Wait,  by  Beach 
&  Smith  his  attorneys,  plead  payment.     John  Mar- 
tin lived  in  Canada  and  was  not  served  with  per- 
sonal process,  but  legally  by  advertisement.     The 
suit  was  tried  at  Special  Term  before  Judge  Bockes 
September  10,  1864,  and  a  judgment  was  entered 
for  plaintiff  for  $1,538.59  damages  and  costs.     The 
General    Term    affirmed   the  judgment,    but   the 
Court  of  Appeals  granted  a  new  tvial  September 
29,  1871.     The  second  trial  was  heard  at  the  Sara 
toga  Circuit,  May  20,  1873,  before  Justice  Bockes 
with  a  jury.     After  hearing  the  testimony  for  the 
plaintiff,    the  defendant    by  J.    S.    L'Amoreaux, 
moved   for   a   dismissal   of  the   complaint  on  the 
grounds  :     That  the   plaintiff  had  failed  to  prove 
a  cause  of  action.     That  the  proof  failed  to   show 
any  evidence  of  fraud  on  the  part  of  William  Wait, 
or  any  proof  of  fraud  on  the  part  of  any  one  in  the 
transfer  of  the  note.     The  motion  was  granted  and 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTT.  217 

judgment  was  entered  for  the  defendant,  William 
Wait,  against  Terry,  receiver,  etc.  This  judgment 
was  affirmed  at  General  Term  and  in  the  Court  of 
Appeals,  and  thus  the  matter  now  rests.  On  the 
trial  before  J.ustice  Bockes,  Wait  produced  proof 
that  he  had  paid  the  note  to  Martin,  an  entire 
stranger.  On  the  second  trial  no  such  proof  was 
offered.  A  judgment  by  default  was  entered 
against  Martin,  on  default  of  appearance. 

Some  men  never  appear  to  be  happy  unless 
entangled  in  the  meshes  of  a  suit  at  law.  Such  an 
one  appears  to  have  been  the  late  Abraham  Best  of 
Clifton  Park.  He  had  as  strong  a  constitutional 
aversion  to  paying  taxes  as  do  the  noted  Smith 
sisters  of  Glastonbury,  Connecticut.  In  the  year 
1863,  Adam  V.  V.  Pearse  was  collector  of  the 
school  district  in  Clifton  Park  in  which  Best  resided. 
A  tax  warrant  having  been  placed  in  his  hands  on 
which  a  certain  amount  was  set  opposite  the  name 
of  Best,  he  called  upon  him  for  the  amount  at  his 
residence.  After  making  some  querulous  objec- 
tions, he  invited  Pearse  into  his  house  and  took 
him  to  an  upper  room.  He  there  left  him  and  went 
out,  locking  the  door  after  him.  After  waiting  in 
vain  for  quite  a  time  for  his  return,  the  collector 
raised  a  window  and  jumped  to  the  ground.  He 
brought  a  civil  action  for  an  assault  against  Best 
which  was  tried  at  the  January  term,  1864,  before 
Justice  Piatt  Potter,  George  G.  Scott  was  plain- 
tiff's counsel,  and  J.  Summerfield  Enos  appeared 
in  behalf  of  the  defendant.  A  j  udgment  was  entered 
10 


218  THE  BENCH  AND   BAR 

against  Best  for  $50  and  costs.  Soon  after  this,  he 
was  adjudged  a  lunatic  on  the  petition  of  his  re- 
latives, and  subsequently  he  died  at  the  Marshall 
Infirmary  in  Troy. 

Mention  was  made  in  a  previous  chapter  of  the 
indictment  against  the  Whitehall  and  Waterford 
turnpike  company  for  maintaining  a  public  nuis- 
ance, and  how  that  the  last-  gate  on  the  road  was 
demolished  by  a  mob.  The  stockholders  having 
abandoned  their  old  style  and  name  and  re-incor- 
porated under  the  general  law  as  ''The  Waterford 
and  Stillwater  Turnpike  Company,''  a  proceeding 
was  instituted  by  an  action  in  the  name  of  the 
People  of  the  State  of  New  York  to  annul  their- 
assumed  franchise,  and  to  declare  the  road  leading 
from  Waterford  to  the  village  of  Stillwater  along 
the  west  bank  of  the  Hudson  river  to  be  a  public 
highway.  The  People  were  represented  by  v^ttor- 
ney-General  Daniel  S.  Dickinson, Charles  S.  Lester, 
John  O.  Mott  and  C.  A.  Waldron.  The  attorneys 
for  the  company  were  James  P.  Butler  and  Edgar 
L.  Fursman.  The  action  was  brought  to  trial 
before  Justice  Piatt  Potter  at  the  Januar}^  Circuit, 
1864.  The  Jury  found  that  the  turnpike  was  not 
constructed  with  a  hard  roadbed,  or  with  ditches 
on  each  side,  as  required  by  law,  and  rendered  a 
verdict  for  the  n^ief  demanded  in  the  People's 
complaint  with  costs  of  the  action.  The  du^ectors 
of  the  Turnpike  Company  sought  to  reverse  the 
judgment  entered  on  this  verdict  but  it  was  affirmed 


OP   8ABATOGA   COUNTY.  219 

in   the  Court  of  Appeals,  January,   1866.     It  is 
reported  in  2  Keyes'  Repoi'ts  327. 

The  action  brought  by  Harvey  Losee  against  Coe 
S.  Buchanan,  Daniel  A.  Bullard,  C.  C.  Clute,  J. 
W.  Clute,  J.  D.  Clute  and  the  Saratoga  Paper 
Company  was  closely  contested  by  all  the  defend- 
ants. The  suit  was  brought  for  the  plaintiff  by 
Hon.  Alembert  Pond  of  Saratoga,  and  Judge  Par- 
ker of  Albany.  The  defendants  Buchanan,  Bullard 
and  the  Paper  Company  were  represented  by  Gen 
eral  Bullard  and  Messrs.  Beach  &  Smith,  the  de- 
fendants Clute  Brothers  secured  the  services  of 
Hon.  Judson  S.  Landon  of  Schenectady^  The  res 
.gestcr  of  the  action  was  the  damages  done  to  plain- 
tiff's buildings  by  the  explosion  of  the  rotary  bleach 
boiler  in  the  Saratoga  Paper  Company's  paper  mill 
February  13,  1864,  whereby  pieces  of  the  boiler 
were  thrown  through  plaintiff's  adjoining  struc- 
tures. The  defendants  Buchanan  and  Bullard 
were  the  trustees  of  the  company,  and  the  Clute 
brothers  of  Schenectady  were  the  makers  of  the 
boiler.  It  was  brought  to  trial  in  the  January  term, 
1866,  before  Judge  Piatt  Potter  and  a  jury.  A  non- 
suit was  entered  by  the  court  as  to  the  Clute 
Brothers,  they  having  proved  satisfactorily  that 
the  boiler  had  been  duly  inspected  and  pronounced 
sound.  The  plaintiffs  relied  on  the  dicta  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals  in  Hay  against  Cohoes  company 
(2  New  York  Meports  159)  to  sustain  their  points; 
particularly  as  it  was  an  opinion  adopting  the 
points  prepared  in  that  case  by  General  Bullard, 


220  THK  BaFOH  AND   BAR 

who  prosecuted  Hay's  case  to  a  successful  termiua- 
tion.  A  verdict  was  rendered  against  the  other 
defendants  for  $3,420.  The  General  term  reversed 
the  judgment  of  the  Circuit,  holding  that  negligence 
must  be  proved,  as  the  defendants  stood  behind 
the  inspector's  certificate  that  their  boiler  was 
sound,  and  granted  a  new  trial.  It  was  had  in  the 
January  term,  1867,  before  Judge  Rosekrans,  and 
the  jury  found  that  the  paper  company  were  guilty 
of  negligence  and  rendered  a  verdict  for  the  plain- 
tiff against  it  for  $2,703.36.  Judgment  for  costs 
against  the  plaintiff  was  entered  in  favor  of  Messrs. 
Buchanan  and  Bullard.  Another  appeal  was  taken 
by  the  plaintiff  and  the  General  Term  reversed  the 
whole  judgment.  It  was  finally  settled  by  the 
Court  of  Appeals  affirming  the  judgment  as  to 
Buchanan  and  Bullard,  holding  that  trustees  are 
not  personally  liable  for  their  principal's  acts,  and 
also  affirming  it  as  to  the  PajDer  Company' s  liabil- 
ity. It  is  reported  in  its  different  stages  in  61 
Barhour  86,  42  Howard  385  and  51  Neio  York 
Reports  476.  Suits  were  also  commenced  against 
the  Saratoga  Paper  Company  for  causing  the  death 
of  a  Mr  and  Mrs.  Jeremiah  Dwyer  b}^  the  said 
explosion.  They  were  entitled  Dwyer,  admr.  agst. 
Saratoga  Paper  Company  and  William  McNamara, 
admr.  agst.  the  same.  They  were  tried  at  Circuit, 
under  the  foregoing  rulings  of  the  highcT  courts  and 
a  verdict  of  $1,000  was  entered  in  the  first  and 
$2,393.37  in  the  second  action.     The  same  attor- 


OF  SARATOGA  OOUNTT.  221 

neys  appeared  in  these  suits  ^s  in  that  brought  by 
Mr.  Losee. 

The  action  brought  by  Oren  Humes,  a  Greenfield 
farmer,  against  his  brother  agriculturalist,  Chauncey 
L.Williams,  is  deserving  of  notice  from  its  singular 
feature  of  damages  as  allegced  in  the  complaint.  It 
recited  that  the  defendant,  in  the  summer  of  1866, 
over- stocked  a  ten  acre  lot  on  his  farm  through 
which  a  small  stream  passed  to  the  plaintiff's  farm, 
and  thei-eby  caused  the  water  to  How  into  plain- 
tiff' s  close  roiled,  impure  and  unfit  for  use  for  his 
cattle  to  drink.  This  singular  issue  of  riparian 
proprietorship  was  brought  to  trial  before  Justice 
Rosekrans  at  the  January  term,  1867.  The  jury 
found  a  verdict  for  the  plaintiff,  assessing  his  dama- 
ges at  five  dollars.  John  W.  Crane  was  plaintiff's 
attorney,  and  L.  B.*  Pike  for  the  defendant. 

For  the  last  ten  years  there  has  hardly  been  a 
term  of  either  the  civil  or  criminal  courts  held  in 
this  county  at  which  some  issue  in  the  "Sweet 
family  feud"  has  not  appeared  for  trial.  The  first 
action  in  this  "Pandora's  box"  was  that  tried  at 
the  September  term,  1867,  before  Judge  Rosekrans, 
in  which  Mary  S.  Van  Deusen  sought  to  eject  her 
brother,  Sylvester  Sweet,  from  a  certain  farm  in 
Moreau.  They  were  the  children  of  one  Sylvester 
Sweet  of  that  town,  who  died  in  1866.  The  plain- 
tiff claimed  under  a  devise  contained  in  her  father's 
will,  dated  September  1849.  The  defendant  replied 
that  he  was  in  occupancy  as  tenant  of  Henry  Jaco- 
bi,  son-in-law  of  Swe<?t,  deceas':'d,  who  claimed  title 


222  THE  BElfCH  AlfD   BAR 

under  a  deed  alleged  to  have  been  execnted  by  the 
decedent,  April  "20,  1864.  The  will  was  not  disput- 
ed. The  plaintiff  replied  that  this  deed  was  exe- 
cuted by  her  father  when  he  was  non  corrvpos  mentis. 
Evidence  was  given  to  prove  that  decedent  was 
insane  from  1862,  and  that  a  commission  of  lunacy 
was  granted  in  1865,  on  the  report  of  which  Judge 
Hulbert  had  declared  him  to  be  a  lunatic.  The 
court  denied  the  motion  for  a  non-suit,  but  charged 
the  jury  to  find  for  the  plaintiff  if  they  found  the 
decedent  to  have  been  insane  in  April,  1864.  A 
verdict  was  given  for  the  plaintiff.  The  judgment 
was  affirmed  in  both  General  Term  and  the  Court 
of  Appeals.  See  the  reported  case  in  51  New  York 
379.  Lewis  Y  arney  and  J  udge  Hay  were  plaintiff' s 
attorneys,  and  Sweet  and  Jacobi'  s  claims  were  ably 
sustained  by  Messrs.  Pond  &  French,  and  Judge 
Brown  of  Glen' s  Falls. 

Another  action  having  its  animus  engendered  by 
this  Moreau  ' '  vendetta ' '  was  that  brought  by  James 
Le  Baron  against  Howe  for  damages  sustained  to 
his  character  by  reason  of  the  false  and  slanderous 
stories  uttered  by  Howe,  to  the  effect  that  Le 
Baron  had  burned  his  buildings,  which  were  in- 
sured in  the  Watertown  Agricultural  Insurance 
company,  with  intent  to  defraud  the  insurance  com- 
pany. The  trial  occupied  the  whole  of  the  May 
term,  1869,  before  Justice  Bockes.  The  jury  found 
a  verdict  for  the  plaintiff  for  $25.  It  was  the  last 
cause  tried  by  Judge  Hay,  at  our  Circuit,  who  was 
associated  with  Mr.  Varney  for  the  plaintiff.    The 


OF  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  223 

defendants  attorneys  were  Judges  Mott  and  Brown 
of  Glen's  Falls. 

The  suit  of  William  P.  Clotliier,  of  Corinth, 
against  Adriance,  Piatt  &  Company,  of  Pough- 
keepsie,  was  brought  under  the  Code  to  have  a  cer- 
tain note  drawn  by  him  declared  void.  J.  W.  Hill 
was  his  attorney.  Mr.  Clothier  claimed  that  he 
signed  the  note  under  fraudulent  representations 
made  by  a  man  who  was  acting  as  the  defendant' s 
agent  in  selling  mowing  machines,  being  induced 
to  sign  a  blank  note  when  he  supposed  it  was  filled 
in  with  a  small  sum.  This  swindling  of  farmers* by 
a  set  of  traveling  sharpers  has  been  quite  prevalent 
for  some  years  past.  Men  who  would  not  lend 
their  name  to  aid  the  credit  of  a  struggling  honest 
neighbor  have  readily  signed  the  various  "sugar 
coated"  notes  presented  by  strangers  with  oily 
tongues  and  the  impudent  pertinacity  of  the  Evil 
One.  The  agent  tilled  up  the  note  with  a  sum  sat- 
isfactory to  Lis  plans  and  passed  it  to  his  princi- 
pals. The  action  was  brought  to  trial  before  the 
September  Circuit,  1867,  before  Judge  Piatt  Potter. 
Clothier  was  non-suited  on  motion  of  Messrs,  Cham- 
bers &  Pomeroy,  the  defendants  attorneys.  It  was 
sustained  in  the  Supreme  Court,  but  the  Court  of 
Appeals  sent  the  action  back  for  a  new  trial.  It 
was  re-tried  before  a  referee,  who  reported  in  Mr. 
Clothier' s  favor.  The  defendants  appealed  and  the 
General  Term,  in  May,  1876,  reversed  the  judgment; 
Justice  Bockes  dissenting  and  holding  that  an 
instrument  fraudulent  in  its  inception  can  never 


224  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

acquire  a  legitimate  nature.     Mr.  Hill  has  now- 
token  another  appeal  to  tiie  court  of  final  resort. 

Of  a  similar  nature  was  the  foundation  of  the 
civil  action  brought  by  Douglas  Cheesebrough 
against  Thomas  H.  Tompkins.  Mr.  Tompkins, 
who  was  a  farmer  living  in  Greenfield,  near  Glen 
Mitchell,  was  induced  by  one  Brown,  agent  for 
George  W.  Palmer,  to  accept  the  agency  for  the  sale 
of  a  patent  mowing  machine  knife  grinder.  It  was, 
however  a  patent  swindle.  The  farmer  was  induced 
to  sign  a  certificate  of  agency  promising  to  pay  a 
certain  sum  after  he  had  sold  a  certain  number  of 
machines.  By  an  ingenious  typographical  device, 
the  certificate  was  so  printed  in  blank  that  a  portion 
of  the  right  end  of  it  could  be  cut  off  and  leave  a 
promissory  negotiable  note.  Mr.  Cheesbrough, 
who  was  a  merchant  in  Saratoga  Springs,  purchased 
among  many  others,  the  note  purporting  to  have 
been  signed  by  Mr,  Tompkins  ;  Brown  endoT'sing 
Palmer,  the  paj^er'  s  name.  In  common  with  other 
farmers  who  had  allowed  their  curiosity  to  get  the 
better  of  their  common  sense  in  signing  these  con- 
tracts, Ml'.  Tompkins  refused  to  pay  the  note. 
The  action  brought  by  Mr.  Cheesbrough  against 
him  was  regarded  in  the  nature  of  a  test  suit. 
Hon.  John  W.  Crane  was  plaintiff's  attorney  and 
Joseph  A.  Shoudy  defended  Mr.  Tompkins  against 
the  unjust  claim-with  the  counsel  of  Hon.  William 
A.  Beach.  It  was  brought  to  ti-ial  at  the  Septem 
ber  term,  1868.  Brown,  the  "agent,"  was  con- 
spicuous for  his  absence.     Mr.  Palmer,  in  his  tes- 


OF   SARATOGA   OOUNTT.  225 

timony  was  uncertain  that  he  ever  authorized  Mr. 
Brown  to  sign  his  name  in  the  negotiation  of  this 
note  to  the  plaintiif.  Mr.  Cheesbrough  was  closely 
cross-examined  by  Mr.  Beach.  To  the  question, 
"At  the  time  you  purchased  this  note  did  you 
know  it  to  have  been  obtained  by  fraud,"  he  de- 
clined to  answer.  To  the  question,  "Did  you  not 
know  it  to  be  a  'mowing  machine  grinder'  note," 
he  also  declined  to  answer.  Mr.  Beach  then  asked 
for  a  non-suit  on  the  ground  that  no  authority  had 
been  showjj  for  Brown  to  endorse  the  note  for  his 
principal ;  and,  that  Mr.  Cheesbrough  by  his  refusal 
to  answer  the  above  questions  showed  that  he  was 
not  a  purchaser  in  good  faith.  Justice  James  non- 
suited the  plaintiff,  and  he  was  upheld  at  General 
Term  and  by  the  Court  of  Appeals.  The  holders 
of  the  "bogus notes  "  throughout  the  county  found 
it  impossible  to  collect  another  dollar,  and  the 
"scrip"  is  now  valuable  as  paper  stock  at  the 
market  quotations. 

The  action  of  the  First  JSTational  Bank  of  Balls- 
ton  Spa  against  the  Insurance  Company  of  North 
America  was  one  of  a  series  of  actions  brought  to 
recover  policies  issued  by  leading  insurances  com- 
panies upon  the  property  of  the  Pioneer  Paper 
Company.  The  Bank  was  the  assignee  of  the 
policies,  holding  them  as  collaterals  to  a  loan. 
These  suits  were  at  the  terminus  of  a  long  litigatioi: 
among  the  stockholders  of  the  Pioneer  Paper  Com- 
pany. To  give  the  history  of  this  litigation  in  the 
State  and  United  States  courts  would  swell  our 


226  THE   BEWOH  AlfD   BAR 

volume  beyond  its  intended  proportions.      It  is 
reported  under  its  various  titles  in  57  Barbour  127, 
668  and  583  ;  59  Barhour  16  ;  62  Barhour  468  and 
36  Hoioard  102.     For  our  purpose  it  is  sutficient  to 
state   that   about   1860,  Coe  S.  Buchanan,    Elisha 
Comstock,  William  Wilson  and  Solomon  A.  Parks 
commenced  the  manufacture  of  paper  at  West  Mil- 
ton under  the  name  of  the  Pioneer  Paper  Company. 
For  a  time  they  were  successful,  but  the  influx  of 
of  wealth  was  too  much  for  the  ambitious   brains 
of  Comstock  and  Buchanan  and  each  sought  to 
drive  the  other  out  of  the  concern.     Comstock  by 
a  decree  of  the  courts  got  possession  of  the   mill 
and   leased  it  to  C.   W.  Weeks  and  Abijah  Com- 
stock.    During  this  time  he  negotiated  the  loan  at 
the  First  National   Bank.     Buchanan   secured  a 
reversal  of  the  decree  and  was  put  in  possession. 
A  judgment  was  recovered  by  the  Bank  on  its  loan 
and  Electus   Dye,  a  deputy   sheriff,  went  to  the 
mill  on  a  certain  day  with  an  execution.     With 
Elisha  Comstock  he  essayed  to   watch  the  mill 
during  the  night,  and  dismissed  the  regular  watch- 
man.    During  the  night  the  mill  was  destroyed  by 
an  incendiary  fire.     Dye  and  Comstock  were  in  the 
company's  office,  a  few  rods  distant  from  the  mill. 
The   insurance   companies  held  that  the  levy  and 
dismissal  of  the  watchiuan  violated  their  policies 
and^refused  payment.     At  the  trial  in  the  Septem- 
ber Circuit,  1870,  before  Justice  Bockes,  a  non-suit 
was  entered.     J.  S.  L'Amoreaux  was  attorney  for 
the  Bank,  with  Beach  &  Smith  as  counsel.     Judge 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  227 

Parker  was  the  attorney  for  the  defendant.  On 
appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court,  it  was  held  that  a  levy 
by  a  sheriff  does  not  absolve  a  party  insured  from 
maintaining  the  watch  demanded  in  the  policy,  and 
that*  the  deputy  sheriff  in  an  office  two  rods  away 
from  the  mill  did  not  fill  the  duty  and  office  of 
watcliTnan.  5  Lansiiiej  203.  A  further  appeal 
was  carried  to  the  Court  of  Appeals  and  the  non- 
suit was  sustained.  About  this  time  the  defunct 
Pioneer  Paper  Company  was  declared  a  bankrupt 
by  the  United  States  district  court.  Their  mill  site 
and  privilege  was  sold  by  J.  A.  Shoudy,  assignee 
in  bankruptcy,  to  Hon  George  West. 

The  doctrine  of  "ancient  lights"  and  "highway 
privileges"  are  as  old  in  the  common  law  as  the 
rights  of  riparian  proprietorship  to  the  waters  flow- 
ing in  a  stream.  The  rule  in  each  instance,  to  use 
the  quaint  language  of  Blackstone,  dates  back  to 
the  time  "when  the  mind  of  man  runneth  not  to 
the  contrary,"  Rival  hotel  proprietors  at  fashion- 
able watering  places  are  as  jealous  of  their  rights 
now  as  were  the  first  mill  owners  in  the  early  days 
of  our  country.  An  attempted  invasion  is  sure  to 
be  fought  in  the  courts,  and  sometimes  by  force. 
Such  a  cause  of  action  arose  in  Saratoga  Springs 
in  1869.  Warren  Leland  was  the  owner  of  the 
Grand  Union  Hotel,  and  Henry  H.  Hathoi'n  of 
Congress  Hall.  Mr  Hathorn  had  purchased  a 
building  on  the  east  side  of  Broadway,  and  sepa- 
rated from  his  hotel  by  Spring  street.  He  fitted  a 
ball  room  in  the  second  story  of  the  building  and 


228  THE  BENCH  AND  BAE. 

constructed  an  iron  bridge  from  the  third  story  of 
Congress  Hall  over  the  street  to  the  ball  room.  Mr. 
Leland,  who  had  paid  an  assessment  of  $1,040.35 
for  the  opening  and  grading  of  Spring  street,  deemed 
this  an  invasion  of  his  vested  rights,  particularly 
as  the  bridge  was  directly  in  front  of  and  obstructed 
the  view  from  his  hotel.  He  began  an  actjion  in 
Westchester  county,  by  Robert  Cochrane,  attorney, 
on  the  relation  of  the  People  against  Mr.  Hathorn. 
Charles  S.  Lester  and  Samuel  Hand,  for  the  defend- 
ant, moved  to  change  the  mnue  to  Saratoga  county. 
It  was  denied  at  Special  and  General  Term  in  the 
second  judicial  district,  but  was  granted  by  the 
*  Court  of  Appeals,  March,  1870,  on  the  ground  that 
actions  for  damages  to  real  property  must  be  tried 
in  the  county  in  which  it  is  situated.  See  42  New 
York  547.  The  action  was  then  noticed  for  trial 
at  the  January  Circuit,  1871,  before  Judge  Rose- 
krans.  Attorney  General  Champlain  was  repre- 
sented by  William  T.  Odell,  and  Mr.  Leland  by 
Mr.  Cochrane.  On  motion  of  Mr.  Lester  the  com- 
plaint was  dismissed  with  costs. 

The  action  brought  by  William  A.  Dunn  against 
Samuel  H.  Luther  and  Henry  Luther,  as  survivors 
of  Luther,  Brother  &  Co.,  distillers,  involved  the 
validity  of  a  verbal  promise,  made  by  a  debtor  set 
free  under  the  United  States  bankrupt  law  of  1867, 
to  revive  a  debt  created  before  the  decree  in  bank- 
ruptcy. The  complaint  illeged  that  on  the  16th 
day  of  November,  1864,  the  plaintifl"  loaned  to  Lu- 
ther, Brother  &  Co.  at  Ballston  Spa,  the  sum  of 


OF   SARATOGA  COUI^TT.  229 

$1,300  ;  taking  therefor  the  note  of  Luther,  Brother 
&  Co.   drawn  payable  to  the  order  of  Seymour 
Chase  (the  other  member  of  the  hrm)  and  endorsed 
by  him  to  plaintitf,  who  then  became  and  still  is 
the  owner  of  the  note.     Chase  died  March  31, 1866, 
and  Henry   Luther   was  not  served  with  process. 
Issue   was  joined   by   the   defendant   Samuel   H. 
Luther,  by  L'Amoreaux   &  Dake,  his   attorneys, 
by  an  answered  verified  November  3,  1870,  setting 
forth  that  defendant  was  bankrupt  and  insolvent 
Nov.  27,  1867,  and  that  by  a  decree  in  bankruptcy 
in   the   United   States   District  Court   he  was  dis- 
charged from   air  debts  and   claims  against    his 
estate  which  existed  Nov.  27,  1867,  and  that  plain- 
tiflf  had  due  notice  of  such   proceedings.     It   was 
brought  to  trial  at  the  September  term,  1871,  before 
Justice  Bockes.     It  was  assumed  at  the  trial  that 
the  plaintiff's  complaint  was  true,  except  that  "as 
surviving  partners  the   defendants   are  justly  in- 
debted to  the  plaintifl'  in  the   full   amount   of  the 
note  from   November,   16,  1864."     The   note  was 
introduced   in   evidence,  and  the  plaintiff  rested. 
The  defendant  oflered  a  copy  of  his  discharge  in 
bankruptcy  in  evidence,  and  the  plaintiff's  attor- 
ney, Col.  Odell  objected  on  the  grounds  that  no 
jurisdiction  is  shown  in  the  District  Court ;  that  it 
shows  no  jurisdiction  over  the  plaintiff  on  the  debt 
due  him  from  the  defendants  ;  and  tiiat  the  certifi- 
cate is  deficient  in  facts  requisite  to  be  shown.    The 
court  received  the   evidence   and    the    defendant 
rested.     The  plaintiff  then  offered  to  prove  that  he 
10* 


230  THE  BENCH  AND   BAR 

never  appeared  in  the  bankruptcy  proceedings, 
nor  proved  his  debt ;  that  Samuel  H.  Luther  fraud- 
ulantly  concealed  from  his  assignee  certain  real 
estate  and  property  in  Ballston  Spa  ;  and,  that 
after  his  discharge  Samuel  H.  Luther,  on  or  about 
September  6,  1870,  promised  to  plaintiff  to  pay  him 
the  said  debt.  The  offers  were  objected  to  by  Mr. 
L'Amoreaux  and  ruled  out  by  the  court,  who 
directed  the  jury  to  find  for  the  defendant. 

The  plaintiff  then  carried  an  appeal  to  the  Gen- 
eral Term  on  the  points  made  in  a  bill  of  exceptions 
stating  the  facts,  offers,  rulings  and  exceptions  had 
and  taken  at  the  trial  and,  further, thata  discharg<"  in 
bankruptcy  does  not  make  the  original  contract  void 
— and,  that  the  alleged  promise  to  pay  was  not  a  new 
cause  of  action.     The  defendant's  points  wei^  that 
this  court  has  no  power  to  determine  the  validity 
of  defendant' s  discharge;  that  the   discharge  can 
only  be  attacked  in  the  court  that  granted  it ;  that 
the  plaintiff  gave  no  notice  of  his  intention  to  im- 
peach the  defendant's  discharge  ;  that  the  plaintiff 
was  bound  to  specify  in  an  amended  complaint,  or 
by  a  rei)ly  his  grounds  of  avoidance  ;  that  if  anj^ 
debt  existed  against  S.  H   Luther  it  was  by  virtue 
of  the  new  promise  ;  and,  that  tlie  new  cause  of 
action  should  have  been  set  forth  in  the  complaint. 
The   General  Term   sustained  the  judgment  and  a 
further  appeal  was  cai-ried  to  the  Court  of  Appeals. 
That  tribunal  reversed  the  judgment  and  ordered  a 
new  trial  on  the  ground  that  tlKM'vidence  contained 
in  the  plaintiff's  offers  should  have  been  passed 


OF  iSARATOGA   COUKTY.  231 

upon  by  a  jury.  A  new  trial  was  had  at  the 
January  term,  1874,  before  Judge  Joseph  Potter, 
and  a  verdict  was  rendered  for  the  plaintifl"  for 
$2,167.14  and  costs.  About  this  time  the  Court  of 
Appeals  held,  in  another  action,  that  it  was  not 
necessary  to  allege  the  new  promise  in  the  com- 
plaint, and  the  defendant  here  rested  his  case. 

The  respective  responsibilities  of  common  car- 
riers and  warehousemen  and  the  point  of  differ- 
ence between  the  two  were  settled  by  the  civil 
action  of  Emily  Pelton  against  the  Rensselaer  and 
Saratoga  Railroad  Company.  On  the  11th  of 
March,  1870,  the  plaintiff  removed  from  Battle 
Creek,  Mich.,  to  Greenfield  in  this  county.  On 
that  day  she  consigned  her  goods  at  the  former 
place,  securely  packed  and  marked  ''Emily  Pelton, 
Saratoga  Springs,  N.  Y."  to  the  Michigan  Central 
Railroad.  Prior  to  their  arrival  in  Saratoga,  plain- 
tiff called  at  the  freight  house  and  made  inquiries 
but  did  not  give  her  address.  When  the  goods 
arrived,  the  agent  made  inquiries  to  find  her  and 
could  not  and  her  goods  were  placed  in  the  store 
house  which  was  burned  May  1,  without  the  defend 
ant's  fault  or  negligence.  The  suit  was 'brought 
to  tria"!  before  Justice  Rosekrans  at  the  January 
t<^rm,  1871.  John  W.  Eigbmy  was  plaintiff's 
attorne}^,  and  John  B.  Gfale  the  defendant's.  The 
court  held  that  the  defendant  ceased  to  be  a  com- 
mon carrier  when  the  goods  were  placed  in  the 
store  house  and,  as  warehouseman,  was  not  liable 
for  their  loss  without  negligence  being  proved.     It 


232  THE  BENCH   AI^D   BAR 

was  taken  to  the  Court  of  Appeals  by  Mr.  Eighmy, 
but  the  opinion  of  Judge  Kosekrans  was  upheld. 
It  is  reported  in  54  New   York  214. 

In  the  summer  of  1870,  James  Maguire,  a  laborer 
residing  in  Ballston  Spa,  lost  his  cow.  He  sought 
her  diligently  far  and  near.  He  was  advised  to 
consult  a  well  known  local  clairvoyantess  who  told 
him  he  would  hnd  his  cow  on  a  certain  farm  near 
the  head  of  Ballston  lake,  which  she  described. 
He  sought  her  there  without  success.  About  this 
time,  Bernard  Curley,  a  farmer  residing  near  Hall's 
corners  in  Malta,  in  coming  to  Ballston  Sj)a  dis- 
covered a  disagreeable  stench,  and,  alter  search 
found  its  source  to  be  in  a  well  in  the  pasture  of 
Dr.  James  F.  Doolittle  in  Malta,  east  of  the'  Mourn- 
ing kil,  into  which  Maguire"  s  cow  had  fallen  and 
died.  He  had  hired  her  pastured  in  that  field,  but 
Dr.  Doolittle  insisted  that  she  was  a  trespasser 
there  for  he  had  found  her  to  be  unruly  and  had 
forbidden  her  further  pasturage  m  his  lield  some 
weeks  previous  to  her  disappearance.  Maguire 
brought  suit  injustice's  court  to  re(;over  her  value, 
laying  his  damages  at  $90.  On  the  trial  he  proved 
by  several  persons  tlmt  if  she  gave  the  amount  of 
milk  he  testified  to  she  was  worth  from  $75  to  $1(J0  ; 
but  all  agreed  that  if  she  was  a  jumper  she  was 
worth  only  her  value  for  beef.  The  defendant 
proved  that  she  could  easily  jump  over  alive  board 
fence  and  was  addicted  to  such  freaks.  He  also 
sought  to  prove  that  she  was  trespassing  on  his 
farm  at  the  time  she  fell  in  the  well,  which  was  just 


OF  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  233 

inside  the  road  fence.  Justice  Maxwell  rendered 
a  judgment  for  plaintiff  for  $45  and  costs,  which 
was  satisfactory  to  neither  party.  An  appeal  was 
taken  to  the  County  Court  in  which  a  new  trial 
was  had  at  the  November  term,  1871,  before  Judge 
Lester  and  a  jury.  Judge  Scott  was  plaintiff's 
attorne}^,  and  L'  Amoreaux  &  Dake  appeared  for 
the  defendant.  Since  the  former  trial  the  defend- 
ant had  procured  a  handbill  which  Maguire  had 
issued  at  the  time  the  cow  was  first  missing,  in 
which  he  described  her  as  "strayed  or  stolen  from 
the  plaintiff's  premises  in  the  village  of  Ballston 
Spa,"  and  he  introduced  it  in  evidence.  It  proved 
conclusively  that  Maguire,  at  that  time,  did  not 
consider  her  at  pasture  in  defendant's  close  in 
Malta.  The  jury  found  a  verdict  of  "no  cause  of 
action." 

The  civil  action  brought  b}^  Mrs.  Abby  P.  Car- 
penter against  John  B.  Hodgeman  and  Benjamin 
W.  Clapp  is  chiefly  remarkable  for  the  fact  that 
every  attorney  engaged  in  it,  with  one  exception, 
had  held  the  office  of  county  judge  in  this  county. 
The  defendants  were  employed  by  the  trustees  of 
Saratoga  Springs  to  remove  an  iron  fence  in  front 
of  plaintiff's  residence  that  was  claimed  to  be  an 
encroachment  upon  Broadway.  The  plaintiff's 
attorneys  were  A.  Pond  and  Judge  Lester.  The 
defendants  were  represented  by  ex-Judges  Corey, 
Hulbert  and  Crane.  Mr.  Pond  was  at  one  time  a 
candidate  for  county  judge,  and  Judge  Joseph 
Potter,  before  whom  it  was  tried  at  the  September 


234  THE  BEWCH  AlTD  BAR 

term,  1872,  had  been  a  judge  of  Washington  county. 
Judge  William  L.  F.  Warren  was  a  witness  for  the 
plaintiff.     Judgment  was  awarded  to  the  plaintiff 
for  $175  and  costs. 

Daniel  Ackart  of  Schaghticoke  began  an  action 
in  the  Supreme  Court,  by  Elihu  Butts,  his  attorney, 
against  Gilbert  V.  Lansing  and  John  G.  Lansing 
for  damages  arising  from  his  having  had  his  leg 
broken  in  the  defendants'  saw  mill  at  Stillwater. 
It  was  brought  to  trial  at  the  September  term,  1872, 
before  Justice  Joseph  Potter,  who  npn-suited  the 
plaintiff.  F.  J.  Parmenter  for  the  plaintiff ;  E.  F. 
Bullard  for  defendants.  It  was  held  in  the  Court 
of  Appeals  that,  as  it  was  shown  that  plaintiff  went 
to  defendants'  mill  to  give  directions  about  the 
sawing  of  his  lumber,  the  question  of  negligence 
should  have  been  submitted  to  a  jury.  It  was  re- 
tried before  Justice  Potter  in  February,  1875.  It 
was  shown  that  Ackart  stepped  in  front  of  the  mill 
carriage  and,  without  warning  him  of  his  danger,  it 
was  started  ind  run  against  him,  breaking  his  leg. 
The  jury  found  a  verdict  for  plaintiff  for  $500  and 
costs.  It  was  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court,  but 
the  General  Term,  in  May,  1876,  following  the 
opinion  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  given  in  59  New 
Torlc  646,  affirmed  the  verdict  and  refused  leave  to 
again  carry  it  before  the  Court  of  Appeals. 

Thomas  P.  Deyoe,  a  hackman,  sued  the  trustees 
of  Saratoga  Springs'  for  damages  to  himself,  his 
carriage  and  team,  occasioned  by  his  driving  in!o  a 
ditch  left  open  in  Broadway,  at  the  corner  of  Cir- 


OF  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  2^5 

cular  street,  on  a  certain  night  in  August,  1872. 
The  trustees,  by  P.  H.  Cowen,  their  attorney,  an- 
swered that  the  ditch  was  dug  by  the  water  com- 
missioners created  by  a  special  act  for  the  purpose 
of  laying  water  pipes  in  the  streets  of  Saratoga 
Springs,  and  that  they,  not  the  trustees,  were  the 
parties  liable.  A  verdict  was  rendered  for  the 
plaintiff  for  $500.  John  Foley  was  the  plaintiff's 
attorney.  The  judgment  was  sustained  at  General 
Term,  which  held  that  the  trustees  of  villages  are 
primarily  liable  as  highway  commissioners  for  acci 
dents  occasioned  by  faulty  streets.  The  doctrine 
of  the  liability  of  highway  commissioners  was  long 
a  disputed  one  in  this  state.  Judge  John  Willard 
was  strong  in  his  objections  to  it.  An  action  was 
brought  before  him  thirty  years  ago  in  our  Circuit 
Court  for  a  similar  case  as  that  of  Mr.  De- 
yoe's.  It  was  the  action  of  Felix  Benton  against 
the  trustees  of  Saratoga  Springs,  tried  at  the  No- 
vember term,  1846.  A  jury  was  impanneled,  and  as 
Mr.  A.  B.  Olmstead  was  opening  the  case  to  them 
he  was  interrupted  by  the  court' s  remark  :  "  I  shall 
non-suit  you  on  those  grounds."  Mr.  Olmstead, 
wholly  prepared  for  this  digression,  observed: 
"  With  all  due  deference  for  your  Honor' s  opinion, 
the  plaintiff  relies  on  the  justice  of  his  cause  and 
and  will  carry  it  to  the  highest  court,  if  necessary." 
He  then  argued  that  if  he  was  sustained  above,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  have  a  verdict  on  the  ques- 
tion of  damages  by  a  jury,  and  that  as  the  witnesses 
were  now  in  court,  it  would  be  the  better  way  to 


236  THE  BENCH  AKD  BAB 

take  the  verdict  now.  Judge  Willard  deliberated 
a  moment  'and  then  said  he  would  let  the  case  go 
to  the  jury,  but  directed  the  clerk  to  enter  the  fact 
that  it  was  against  his  view  of  the  law.  A  small 
verdict :  viz.  $150,  was  given  for  the  plaintiff. 

The  dower  case  brought  by  Elizabeth  Hart  against 
Gil  man  Bush,  has  been  a  long  and  interesting  one. 
I.  C.  Ormsby,   attorney  for  plaintiff;  L.  B.  Pike, 
for  defendant.     The  plaintiff,  Elizabeth  Hart,  was 
once  the  wife  of  Dr.   Stephen  Hart,  from  whom, 
however,  she  had,  during  his  life,  obtained  a  decree 
of  divorce,  on  account  of  his  adultery.    The  decree 
was,  of  course,  for  an  absolute  divorce.     Subse- 
quently the  doctor  died  possessed  of  a  certain  farm 
near  Bemis  Heights,  in  this   county.     This  farm 
came  into   the  possession  of  Gilman  Bush,   and 
against  him  Elizabeth  Hart  brought  an  action  to 
recover  her  dower.     The  action  was  commenced 
several  years  ago,  and  has  been  tried  at  the  Circuit 
and  has  once  been  to  the  General  Term.     At  the 
first  trial  at  the  Circuit,  in  1872,   before  Justice 
James,  the  defendant,   Bush,   offered  in  evidence 
what  purported  to  be  an  agreement  on  the  part  of 
the  plaintiff,  Mrs,  Hart,  to  accept  a  certain  sum  in 
lieu  of  a  dower.     It  was  claimed  by  her  counsel 
that  a  divorced  woman  was  incompetent  to  make  a 
valid  agreement  with  her  divorced  husband.     The 
court  sustained  this  view  and  ruled  out  the  agree- 
ment.    The   defendant    appealed   to   the   General 
Term,  wliere  the  decision  of  the  court  below  was 
reversed,  and  it  was  held  that   the  contract  was 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  237 

valid  and  binding.  The  case  thus  came  back  for  a 
new  trial  before  Judge  Potter,  without  a  jury.  Mrs. 
Hart's  counsel  now  changed  his  tactics.  The  Gen- 
eral Term  having  decided  that  the  agreement  was 
admissible,  he  now  denied  that  Mrs.  Hart  ever 
executed  the  agreement.  It  was  alleged  that  it  was 
executed  by  her  daughter  without  her  consent  or 
approval.  To  sustain  the  agreement,  the  defend- 
ant called  as  a  witness  George  W.  Neilson,  who 
was  the  magistrate  before  whom  the  agreement  was 
acknowledged.  Mr.  Neilson  was  positive  in  his 
recollection  of  the  execution  of  the  agreement  by 
Mrs.  Hart.  The  defense  also  offered  in  evidence 
the  hand-writing  of  the  daughter,  which  exhibited 
a  difference  in  the  manner  of  spelling  the  first  name 
of  the  plaintiff  as  compared  with  that  adopted  by 
the  mother.  The  former  spelled  her  name  Eliz/- 
beth,  and  the  latter  Elizabeth  The  issues  in  this 
action  are  yet  undecided. 

The  right  of  a  father  in-law  to  interfere  in  the 
relations  existing  between  his  daughter  and  her 
husband  and  to  entice  her  to  abandon  her  home 
and  seek  an  asylum  in  his  house  was  the  subject 
in  action  in  the  suit  brought  by  Martin  Ford  against 
Levi  Ro\*vley  Both  parties  were  farmers  in  Still- 
water. Ford  formed  a  runaway  marriage  with 
Rowle^^'s  daughter.  About  a  year  afterwards  her 
mother  induced  her  to  leave  her  husband  and  return 
home.  Rowley  refused  Ford  permission  to  see 
his  wife,  and  he  brought  this  action  to  reco^'^er  his 
rights.     It  was  brought  to  trial  at  the  January  term, 


238  THE   BENCH  AKD   BAR 

1872,  before  Justice  Bockes.  L  B.  Pike  was 
plaintiff's  attorney,  ind  Pond  &  French  for  the 
defendant.  Justice  Bockes  refusing  to  non-suit 
the  plaintiff,  the  father  yielded  and  the  daughter 
returned  to  her  hu^^band.  It  was  stipulated  that 
the  case  should  rest  in  abej^ance.  Rowley  then 
sold  his  farm  and  removed  to  the  West.  Mrs. 
Ford  about  two  years  later  went  on  a  visit  to  her 
parents  and  again  for  a  time  refused  to  return  to 
her  husband.  Mr.  Pike  informs  me  that  she  has, 
however,  returned  to  her  husband,  and  I  trust  that 
their  marital  troubles  are  now  forever  hidden  from 
the  law  and  public  notoriety.  There  was  no  proof 
but  that  Mr.  Ford  was  a  kind  husband. 

In  the  summer  of  1870,  Eugenie  Soumet,  of  New 
York  city,  deposited  with  Wolff  Brothers,  pawn 
brokers,  a  case  of  jewelry  to  secure  a  loan  of  $88. 
Soon  after,  she  came  to  Saratoga  Springs  and 
directed  them  by  letter  to  send  her  the  box  by 
express  "C.  O.  D."  Tlie}^  placed  the  box  as  they 
had  received  it  in  the  hands  of  defendant's  agent 
in  New  York,  with  their  bill.  Upon  delivery  the 
agent  handed  to  Wolffs'  clerk  a  paper  stating  that 
defendant  should  not  be  held  liable  beyond  $50, 
unless  specially  insured  and  so  specified  in  the 
agreement.  At  the  same  time  he  asked  the  value 
and  was  shown  Wolffs'  bill.  The  clerk  took  the 
receipt  or  contract  of  Wolff  Brothers,  who  made  no 
exception  to  it.  The  package  never  was  delivered 
to  M'lle  Soumet,  and  she  brought  her  suit  to  re- 
cover $860.68,    the  alleged  value  of  her  jewelry. 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  239 

It  was  tried  in  the  September  term,  1872,  before 
Judge  Joseph  Potter.  J.  W.  Eighmy  for  plaintiff, 
and  L.  B.  Pike  for  defendant.  Judge  Potter  refused 
to  charge  that  the  writing  was  a.  contract  between  tlie 
parties,  and  the  jurj^  fou  d  a  verdict  for  the  plain- 
tiff for  the  amount  claimed.  On  appeal  to  the  Gen- 
eral Term,  in  June,  1873,  Judge  Piatt  Potter  pro- 
nounced the  opinion  of  the  court  that  by  the  ruling 
of  the  Commissioners  of  Appeals  in  Belger  v  Dins- 
more  (51  New  York  166)  there  was  error  at  Circuit. 
It  was  a  question  of  law,  not  of  fact.  That  the 
plaintiff  was  bound  b}^  the  action  of  Wolff  Broth- 
ers is  settled  by  Nelson  'D.  Hudson  River  Rail- 
road, (40  New  York  504. )  A  new  trial  was  had  in 
May,  1873,  before  Justice  Bockes,  and  a  verdict 
was  found  for  the  plaintiff  for  $93  and  costs. 

It  was  decided  that  there  is  no  connection  of  church 
or  state  in  any  form,  in  passing  upon  the  law  govern- 
ing ihe  question  raised  in  the  action  brought  by 
Anna  E.  Van  Buren  against  the  "Reformed  Church 
in  Ganzevoort"  to  recover  services  as  organist  from 
October,  1869,  to  April,  1871.  It  was  tried  in  1873 
before  Justice  Bockes,  without  a  jury.  J.  W. 
Eighmy^  for  plaintiff;  A.  Pond  for  defendant. 
After  argumeiit  on  motion  to  dismiss  complaint. 
Judge  Bockes  held,  1st,  that  the  defendant's  cor- 
porate existence  must  be  distinctly  alleged  ;  2d,  that 
the  existence  of  a  church  as  such  is  not  recognized 
by  our  laws  ;  3d,  that  mere  assumption  of  a  cor- 
porate capacity  is  not  sufficient  to  establish  a  de 
facto  corporation  ;  4th,  that  church  music  in  the 


240  THE  BEITCH  AND  BAR. 

country  villages  and  hamlets  being  usually  gratu- 
itous, plaintiff's  services  will  be  presumed  to  have 
been  such  ;  and  5th,  to  authorize  recovery  it  must 
be  alleged  and  clearly  proved  that  there  was  an 
employment  of  plaintiff  by  the  defendant  as  a  cor- 
porate body,  with  a  promise  to  pay  for  such  ser- 
vices. This  interesting  case  is  reported  in  62  Bar- 
hour  495. 

On  April  28,  1872,  Ralph  T.  Darrow  committed 
suicide  at  Saratoga  Springs,  by  shooting  himself. 
He  was  insured  in  the  Excelsior  Life  Insurance 
Company  for  $10,000  in  the  name  of  and  for  the 
benefit  of  his  wife,  Mary  E.  Darrow.  The  insurance 
company  refused  to  pay  the  policy  on  the  ground 
of  fraudulent  answers  regarding  deceased's  habits 
in  the  application,  and  that  it  was  voided  by  his 
suicide.  An  action  was  brought  by  John  R.  Put- 
nam as  attorney  for  Caroline  E.  Patrick  and  S.  F. 
Terwilliger,  committee  of  the  estate  o:  Mary  E. 
Darrow,  a  lunatic.  The  insurance  company  was 
represented  by  E.  F.  Shepherd  and  E.  L.  Fursman. 
It  was  tried  at  the  January  term,  1874,  before  Judge 
Joseph  Potter.  The  jury  gave  a  verdict  for  the 
plaintiff  for  $10,585.80  with  five  per  cent  allowance 
for  costs.  The  verdict  was  appealed  from  ami.  the 
General  Term  confirmed  it  and  judgment  was  en- 
tered for$ll,225.20.  The  point  decided  in  this  case 
is  that  the  policy  having  been  taken  in  the  name 
of  the  wife,  the  husband's  subsequent  acts  will  not- 
vitiate  it.  The  issue  of  fraudulent  answers  touch- 
ing personal  habits  of  the  party  insured  arose,  also, 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  241 

in  the  action  of  Steenbergh  against  the  Metropoli- 
tan Life  Insurance  Company,  tried  at  the  Septem- 
ber term,  1875,  before  Justice  Bockes.  Putnam  & 
Eustis  were  plaintiffs  attorneys,  and  Arnoux,  Rich 
&  Woodford,  of  New  York,  appeared  for  the 
defendant.  The  question  was  decided  by  a  jury 
who  found  a  verdict  for  the  plaintiff  for  $5,000  ; 
the  face  of  the  policy.  Concerning  Mr.  Putnam's 
management  of  these  actions  an  eminent  jurist 
writes  the  author  in  the  following  terms  :  '  I  regard 
him  as  one  of  the  best  men  at  our  bar,  a  sound 
lawyer  and  reliable  in  every  place  whatever.  He  is 
esteemed  by  the  bench  for  his  unobtrusive  merit 
and  modest  and  retiring,  yet  earnest  and  untiring 
manners." 

The  right  of  a  postmaster  to  make  and  physically 
to  enforce  rules  regulating  the  conduct  of  people 
while  in  the  post  office  after  their  mail  was  affirmed 
in  the  action  brought  by  John  N.  Whonhart  against 
Benjamin  F.  Judson,  tried  at  the  May  term,  1875, 
before  Justice  Langdon.  Judson  is  postmaster 
at  Saratoga  Springs  and  had  posted  a  notice  in  the 
post  office  forbidding  smoking.  He  soon  after- 
wards found  Whonhart  with  a  cigar  in  his  mouth 
in  the  post  office.  He  asked  him  to  go  out,  or 
put  out  his  cigar.  Whonhart  refused  and  Judson 
put  him  out  of  the  building.  He  began  an  action 
for  assault  and  battery  in  the  Supreme  court  with 
P.  H.  Co  wen  for  his  attorney.  Mr.  Judson  secured 
the  services  of  L.  B.  Pike  in  his  defense.  The  juiy 
found  a  verdict  of  "no  cause  of  action."  At  the 
11 


242  THE  BENCH  AND   BAR 

close  of  this  term  the  deaths  of  Hon.  W .  L.  F.  Warren 

and  Col.  William  T.  Odell,  former  district  attorneys 
of  this  county,  were  announced  by  Judge  Lester 
and  J.  S.  KAmoreaux.  Suitable  resolutions  were 
adopted  and  the  court  adjourned. 

In  the  autumn  of  1874,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cliipraan, 
then  lessee  of  the  Mansion  House,  Saratoga  Springs, 
began  actions  against  nearly  all  of  the  landlords  of 
the  hotels  in  that  village  for  damages  alleged  to  have 
been  sustained  by  her  by  reason  of  their  turning 
their  sewage  into  the  creek  which  runs  in  front  of 
the  Mansion  House,  causing  thereby  a  great  stench 
so  that  her  guests  left  in  consequence  to  her  great 
damage.  The  suit  brought  by  her  against  John 
Palmer,  the  owner  of  a  boarding  house  on  Circular 
street,  was  tried  at  the  September  Circuit,  1875, 
before  Justice  Bockes.  Messrs.  Frisbie  &  Hulett 
were  the  plaintiff's  attorneys.  L.  Varney  and 
Judge  Lester  defended  the  hotel  keepers  in  the 
person  of  Mr.  Palmer,  this  being  a  test  suit.  The 
jury  assessed  Mr.  Palmer's  share  of  the  damage 
did  to  Mrs.  Chipman  to  be  five  dollars. 

A  history  of  the  courts  of  this  county  would  be 
incomplete  without  the  details  of  a  "horse  suit." 
The  late  Judge  Hay  used  to  remark  that  it  required 
more  legal  acumen  to  manage  the  details  of  an 
action  wherein  an  equine  quadruped  was  the  "bone 
of  contention"  than  it  did  to  master  the  intricacies 
of  an  ejectment  suit  involving  the  settlement  of 
confiicting  patent  lines.  To  fill  the  void  the  action 
brought  by  Mervin  Adams  against  James  D.  Le 


OF  SAHATOChA  OOUITTY.  343 

Roy,  which  was  tried  at  the  September  Circuit, 
1875,  before  Justice  Bockes,  will  be  cited.  It  also, 
has  the  merit  of  cbntirming  the  opinion  once  ex- 
pressed by  Ex-President  Lincoln  that  "the  one 
thing  which  the  Almighty  can  never  foreknow  is 
the  verdict  of  a  petit  jury."  LeRoy  is  a  merchant 
at  Ballston  Spa,  and  Adams  a  livery  keeper  at 
Saratoga  Springs.  In  November,  1874,  James  H. 
LeRoy,  a  son  of  the  defendant,  went  to  plaintiff's 
stables  and  made  a  contract  to  take  one  of  the  lat- 
ter's  horse's  for  its  keeping  during  the  ensuing  win- 
ter, to  use  it  as  he  required  in  his  business.  Young 
LeRoy  was  then  past  his  majority.  He  put  the 
horse  in  his  father' s  stable,  and  it  was  occasionally 
used  by  both,  the  father  at  one  time  driving  it  to 
Northampton  and  back.  About  the  first  of  Janu- 
ary the  horse  became  very  lame  and  unlit  for  use. 
A  tender  was  made  of  it  to  Mr.  Adams,  and  he 
refused  to  accept.  But,  instead,  he  brought  suit  in 
the  Supreme  Court  for  its  value  alleging  it  to  be 
$800.  Joseph  W.  Hill  was  his  attorney.  Mr.  Le- 
Roy defended  the  action  and  secured  the  services 
L'Amoreaux  &  Dake.  Pending  the  action  the 
horse  was  "turned  to  grass,"  and  while  in  the  pas- 
ture his  forward  hoofs  dropped  off.  On  the  trial 
Adams  testified  that  he  let  the  young  man  have  the 
horse  as  the  agent  of  his  father.  LeRoy,  senior, 
testified  that  he  told  his  son  not  to  get  the  horse, 
and  LeRoy,  junior,  testified  that  he  told  Adams  he 
wanted  the  horse  for  his  own  use,  and  corroborated 
his  father's  statement.     The  defendant  proved  by 


^4A  the  beitch  and  bar 

livery  men  and  farmers  that  it  was  an  old  worn  out 
livery  horse,  not  woith  to  exceed  $75.  He  also 
proved  by  unimpeached  veterinary  authority  that 
the  horse' s  hoof  disease  had  been  of  at  least  two 
year's  standing.  Judge  Bockes  charged  the  jury 
directly  upon  the  doctrine  of  bailees,  that  the 
defendant  was  only  required  to  use  the  same  care 
as  a  prudent  man  would  of  his  own  property,  and 
that  the  preponderance  of  testimony  was  to  the 
effect  that  the  defendant  never  was  a  bailee  of 
plaintiff's  horse.  The  jury  found  a  verdict  for 
the  plaintiff  for  $175  and  costs.  This  is  the  more 
remarkable  from  the  fact  that  four  of  the  jury  went 
to  see  the  horse  in  the  pasture,  and  one  of  them,  a 
horseman,  too,  said  publicly  that  the  animal  had 
been  worthless  for  at  least  two  years. 

At  the  February  term,  1876,  held  by  Justice 
Joseph  Potter,  was  tried  the  civil  action  of  William 
H.  Clement  against  Mark  M.  Cohn.  Clement, 
who  lives  at  Morrow,  Ohio,  owns  a  block  on  the 
east  side  of  Broadway  in  Saratoga  Springs,  occu- 
pied partly  as  stores  and  partly  as  dwellings. 
Cohn,  hired  a  store  of  Clement's  agent  without  any 
reservation.  Clement,  afterwards,  claimed  that 
there  was  an  alley  or  entrance  way  through  the 
cellar  to  tenements  in  the  rear.  Mr.  Cohn  asserted 
that  he  rented  and  occupied  the  cellar  as  a  part  of 
his  store.  Hence  this  suit.  The  plaintiff  was  rep- 
resented by  A.  B.  Olmstead,  and  the  defendant  by 
John  Foley  at  the  trial.  Judge  Potter  held  that  a 
lease  without  reservation  extends  from  the  center 


OF  SAEATOaA  OOUNTT.  245 

of  the  earth  to  the  outer  edge  of  gravitation,  and 
directed  a  verdict  for  defendant  and  judgment  was 
thus  entered. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  LANSING-RUSSEL  8UIT  IN  EQUITY. 

This  suit  which  was  commenced  by  a  bill  in  the 
Court  of  Chancery  and  ended  in  the  Supreme 
Court,  in  equity,  forms  a  connecting  link  between 
the  two  great  epochs  in  our  judicial  history,  and 
attracted  at  the  time  great  attention  from  the  issues 
involved,  which  cast  a  cloud  over  a  family  widely 
known  in  the  state  and  moving  in  the  first  circles 
of  social,  legal  and  political  society ;  also,  for  the 
great  number  of  distinguished  counselors  engaged 
in  it  at  its  various  stages.  It  was  entitled  "Derick 
C.  Lansing  and  others  against  David  Russell  and 
Alida  L.  Russell  his  wife."  The  plaintiff  and 
Alida  Russell  were  the  children  of  Cornelius  Lan- 
sing, formerly  a  wealthy  citizen  of  Lansingburgh, 
who  died  April  23,  1842,  aged  91  years.  He  had, 
on  September  24,  1836,  made  a  will,  and  annexed  a 
codicil  to  it  July  10,  1837.  By  its  terms  one  half 
of  the  income  of  his  property  was  to  be  equally 
enjoyed  by  his  children  during  their  lives,  and 
after  their  deaths  the  body  of  his  estate  was  to  be 
divided  among  his  grand  children,  'per  stirpes. 
After  his  death,  his  son-in-law,  David  Russell,  at 
the  time  an  attorney  in  practice  at  Salem,  Wash- 
ington county,  and  for  six  years  a  representative 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  247 

in  congress,  caused  to  be  recorded  two  deeds  pur- 
porting to  have  been  executed  by  the  decedent 
November  30,  1841  ;  one  deeding  his  farm  in  Salem 
to  David  Russell,  and  the  other  his  farm  in  Lan- 
singburgh,Ms  homestead, to  AlidaL.  Russell.  The 
signing  of  the  deeds  was  witnessed  by  Hon.  AVil- 
liam  A .  Russell,  son  of  David  and  Alida, 

The  plaintiffs  filed  their  bill  in  Chancery  in  1844, 
praying  to  have  the  deeds  cancelled  and  set  aside, 
cliarging  that  the  signatures  of  Cornelius  Lansing 
was  not  affixed  by  him  to  said  deed,  or,  if  done  by 
his  hand,  it  was  by  the  connivance  or  compulsion 
of  David  Russell,  or  some  person  or  persons  i.  ting 
under  his  directions.  After  the  •  cause  was  put  at 
issue  by  a  replication  on  the  part  of  the  plaintiffs' 
to  the  defendants'  answer,  Chancellor  Walworth 
awarded  the  following  issues  :  "Was  Cornelius 
Lansing  legally  incompetent,  by  reason  of  unsound- 
ness of  mind  or  .mental  incapacity,  to  execute  a 
deed  at  the  time  the  two  deeds  in  question  purport 
to  have  been  executed  ?  Were  the  said  deeds 
falsely  made,  forged  or  counterfeited,  or  was  either 
of  them  falsely  made,  forged  or  counterfeited  ? 
Were  the  signatures  and  marks  purporting  to  be 
made  to  said  deeds  made  by  said  Cornelius  Lansing, 
or  was  the  signature  or  mark  to  either  of  said  deeds, 
procured  and  obtained  by  compulsion  or  by  the 
fraudulent  management  had  by  the  imposition  of 
the  said  David  Russell  and  Alida  his  wife,  or 
either  of  them,  or  b}^  any  other  person  by  the  pro- 
curement of  said  David  Russell  and  Alida  his  wife, 


248  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

or  one  of  them  ?  It  was  acknowledged  by  both 
parties  that  at  the  times  of  the  making  of  the  will 
and  codicil  Cornelius  Lansing  was  of  a  sound 
mind. 

These  issues,  involving  somewhat  similar  features 
to  those  in  "  Esau  versus  Jacob,"  recorded  in  Holy 
Writ  in  Genesis  xxvii,  were  directed  to  be  tried  in 
the  Dutchess  county  circuit,  and  were  accordingly 
brought  to  trial  at  Poughkeepsie,  November  21, 
1845,  before  Judge  Selah  B.  Strong.  The  plaintiffs' 
attorneys  and  counsel  were  J.  E. Taylor, C.  L.  Tracy 
and  David  Buel  of  Troy,  B.  Davis  Noxon  of  Syra- 
cuse, and  John  Van  Buren  of  New  York.  The 
defendant  David  Russell  appeared  in  person  with 
such  aid  as  could  be  furnished  by  those  bright 
luminaries  of  the  Washington  county  bar,  Samuel 
and  Cyrus  Stevens,  and,  as  if  he  knew  the  des- 
perate nature  of  his  suit,  he  had  also  secured  the 
greatest  American  jury  lawyer  of  the  century,  Dan- 
iel Webster,  then  in  the  proud  zenith  of  his  legal 
and  senatorial  fame.  The  jury  found  a  verdict  for 
the  defendants  on  all  the  issues.  This  is  said  to 
have  been  owing  to  the  ingenuity  and  tact  of  Web- 
ster. He  possessed  himself  of  the  family  history 
of  each  juror  and  then,  seriatim,  he  addressed  each 
one  by  name  in  the  most  familiar  manner,  and 
drew  an  illustration  from  their  own  fireside  stories 
applicable  to  the  issues,  and  asked  them  how  they 
would  have  acted   under   similar  circumstances. 

On  a  case  being  made  by  the  plaintiffs  Cliancellor 
Walworth  made  sin  order  granting  a  new  trial  so 


or  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  249 

far  as  it  related  to  Alicia  Russell  and  the  Lansing- 
burgh  farm,  and  denying  the  motion  so  far  as  it 
related  to  David  Russell  and  the  Salem  farm.  (See 
3  Barbour  C7i.  -Rep. '325.)  The  order  was  dated 
August  10,  1847.  The  right  of  the  Chancellor  to 
make  such  an  order  at  that  date  was  affirmed  by 
the  new  Court  of  Appeals.  (See  2  JV.  T.  Rep.  563.) 
By  the  judiciary  act  of  1847 all  causes  then  pending 
in  Chancery  were  sent  to  the  Supreme  Court,  and  ac- 
cordingly it  was  again  brought  to  trial  at  the  Sara- 
toga Circuit,  June  6,  185<>,  before  Justice  Hand.  It 
continued  for  fourteen  days.  The  counsel  engaged 
in  it  on  the  part  of  the  plaintiffs  were  J.  E.  Taylor, 
Job  Pierson,  David  Buel  and  C.  L.  Tracy  of  Troy, 
John  W.  Thompson  of  Ballston  Spa,  B.  Davis 
Noxon  of  Syracuse  and  John  Yan  Buren  of  New 
York.  The  defendants  were  unable  to  secure  the 
attendance  of  Webster  at  the  second  trial,  and  his 
place  was  suppled  with  William  Hay,  John  K. 
Porter  and  William  A.  Beach,  and  the  other  attor- 
neys at  the  former  trial.  Then  began  one  of  the 
closest  drawn  legal  battles  ever  fought  in  our  time- 
honored  court  house.  Then  Greek  met  Greek  and 
tiie  tug  of  war  was  illuminated  by  some  of  the 
brightest  of  Prince  John's  wit.  When  Hannah 
Brust,  a  witness  for  the  plaintiff  to  prove  the  men- 
tal and  physical  incapacity  of  Lansing,  was  being 
cross-examined  by  Mr.  Beach,  she  would  look  to- 
wards Mr.  Yan  Buren  before  answering  the  ques- 
tion. He  appealed  to  the  court  that  the  witness 
should  answer  his  cLuestions  without  looking  to- 


250  THE  BENCH  AND   BAR 

wards  Van  Biiren  to  get  the  cue.  Prince  John 
ccolly  rose  to  his  feet  and  remarked  tliat  he  should 
"insist  that  the  lady  should  be  allowed  her  natural 
right  to  choose  among  gentlemen  whom  she  should 
look  at." 

The  plaintiffs  proved  by  Dr.  Samuel  T.  Spear,  then 
pastor  of  the  South  Presbyterian  church  in  Brook- 
lyn, and  now  editor  of  the  New  York  Independent^ 
but,  in  1841  a  practicing  physician  in  Lansing- 
burgh,  that  at  the  time  the  deeds  purported  to  be 
executed  Lansing,  the  grantor,  was  suffering  from 
a  cancer  on  his  lip  that  was  very  painful  and  ren- 
dered it  necessary  to  keep  him  under  the  influence 
of  strong  narcotics,  and  that  the  cancer  eventually 
caused  his  death  less  than  five  months  afterwards. 
They  proved  by  Jane  Giles,  Hannah  Brust  and 
William  Lansing  that  it  would  have  been  impossi- 
ble for  Lansing  to  have  signed  the  deeds  without 
one  of  them  knowing  it,  that  he  was  partly  deaf 
and  nearly  blind,  that  his  food  had  to  be  cut  for 
him,  and  that  he  had  to  be  dressed  and  led  about 
his  apartments.  Other  evidence  was  given  to  show 
that  the  deeds  were  in  the  hand  writing  of  David 
Russell,  excepting  the  signatures,  which  appeared 
to  show  a  quaver  as  of  an  unsteady  hand,  but  under 
a  microscope  these  irregularities  indicated  the 
steady  nerves  of  the  hand  that  executed  them, 
for  they  were  in  graceful  curves  ;  that  Alida  Rus- 
sell after  the  death  of  her  father  had  said  that  she 
wished  that  she  could  buy  the  old  homestead  but 
was  too  poor  to  do  so  ;  that  the  mental  and  phy- 


OP  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  251 

sical  capacity,  of  the  grantor  was  such  that  five  j'^ears 
before  he  had  turned  over  to  another  son-in-law, 
Elisha  Alvord,  (father  of  Hon.  Thomas  G.  Alvord 
of  Syracuse)  all  his  notes,  bonds,  deeds,  leases, 
etc. ;  and  that  the  fact  of  the  execution  of  the  deed 
to  Alida  Russell  was  not  known  till  after  his  death, 
and  until  a  partition  suit  made  its  production 
necessary,  if  she  insisted  on  holding  under  it. 

The  defense  interposed  evidence  to  substantiate 
that  the  grantor  was  in  sound  mind  at  the  date  of 
the  signature  of  the  deed  ;  and  also  of  the  finding 
of  the  previous  verdict  sustaining  its  validity. 
Solomon  W.  Russell,  another  son  of  David,  was 
not  sworn  at  this  trial,  his  testimony,  as  to  the 
declaratiors  of  his  grandfather  acknowledging  pub- 
licly the  execution  of  the  deed  to  David  Russell, 
being  unnecessary  under  the  Chancellor' s  ruling 
affirming  the  validity  of  that  deed,  there  being 
reasonable  ground  to  so  adjudge  it.  The  case  was 
summed  up  for  the  defense  by  Samuel  Stevens, 
and  for  the  plaintiff  by  John  Van  Buren.  Judge 
Hand  then  charged  the  jury  to  find  upon  the  inter- 
rogatories framed  by  the  Court  of  Chancery,  (before 
given)  and  they  in  their  verdict  answered  the  first 
and  second,  in  the  negative,  and  the  third  in  the 
affirmative.  Judg  ment  was  thereupon  entered  for 
the  plaintiffs  cancelling  the  deed  of  the  Lansing- 
burgh  farm  to  Alida  Russell, 

An  appeal  was  taken  to  the  General  Term,  and  a 
motion  to  grant  a  new  trial  was  heard  at  Malone  in 
July,  1852,  by  Justices  Willard,  Hand  and  Cady  ; 


252  THE  BENCH  AND  BAB. 

Justice  C.  L.  Allen,  being  a  relative  of  the  parties, 
taking  no  part.  An  exhaustive  opinion  of  the  Court 
affirming  the  verdict  was  read  by  Justice  Willard. 
The  following  synopsis  is  prepared  from  the  report- 
ed decision  in  13  Barbour  510:  "The  verdict  of 
the  jury  in  the  first  instance  having  been  in  favor 
of  tL  e  defense,  on  all  the  issues,  and  the  late  court 
of  chancery  having  affirmed  it  as  to  the  deed  to 
David  Russell,  this  court  cannot  entertain  at  this 
date  a  motion  to  set  it  aside.  Neither  can  the 
motion  of  the  defendants  to  have  both  deeds  declar- 
ed valid  be  entertained.  The  important  question 
before  the  court  is  whether  there  is  sufficient 
grounds  disclosed  in  the  case  to  call  for  interference 
with  the  verdict  for  the  plaintiffs  on  the  last  issues. 
The  parties  standing  in  the  same  relation  to  the 
testator,  and  the  defendants  claiming  under  a  deed 
made  alter  the  execution  of  a  will,  the  presumption 
is  against  anything  which  alters  the  nature  of  that 
will.  It  is  not  denied  that  when  the  will  was  made 
the  testator  was  of  a  sound  mind.  The  deed  to  Mrs. 
Russell  tot  lUy  disarranges  the  will,  and  is,  there- 
fore, of  the  nature  of  a  codicil.  It  purports  to  be 
a  gratuity,  to  place  her  on  an  equality  with  his 
other  children.  The  deed  is  in  the  handwriting  of 
David  Russell  and  is  witnessed  only  by  William 
A.  Russell.  Conceding  that  Mr.  Lansing  had  ca- 
pacity to  make  the  deed,  still  he  was  in  a  condition 
when  even  'the  grasshopper  is  a  burden.'  His 
acts  done  when  he  could  have  been  so  easily  con- 
trolled should  be  watched  with  jealousy.    It  is  not 


OF  SARATOGA  COITCfTY.  253 

necessary  to  impute  forgery  or  perjur}'  to  William 
A.  Russell.  He  maj-  not  have  been  present  when 
the  grantor  was  induced  to  assent  by  undue  in 
Huence.  This  conveyance  is  of  a  testamentary  na- 
ture and,  as  such,  having  but  one  subscribing  wit- 
ness, is  void.  It  is  unusual  in  form,  and  disturbed 
the  harmony  of  the  will.  It  was  never  alluded  to 
in  any  subsequent  conversation  by  the  testator,  nor 
acknowledged  by  him.  It  is  att'^nded  with  all  the 
circumstances  of  doubt  and  suspicion.  If  it  was 
genuine  it  should  have  been  mentioned  at  the  time 
the  will  was  read."  The  motion  for  a  new  trial 
was  denied  and  a  decree  was  then  entered  setting- 
aside  the  deed  of  the  Lansingburgh  property, 
neither  party  being  allowed  costs  against  the  other 
on  the  motion.  The  matter  there  rested,  and  save 
for  the  principles  it  settled  and  the  magnitude  of 
their  proportions  it  has  well  nigh  been  forgotten 
by  all  except  the  legal  fraternity. 

11* 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THREE  SINGULAR  LAND  SUITS. 

This  work  would  not  be  complete  without  giving 
a  brief  detail  of  the  celebrated  land  suits  of  Seabury 
against  Rowland  ;  Holmes  against  Smith  ;  and 
Wood  against  LaFayette.  The  tirst  was  brought 
by  Nathaniel  Seabury,  Daniel  Swartfiguer  and 
others,  heirs  of  Sarah  Broughton  Seabury,  who 
was  a  direct  descendant  from  Samson  S.  Broughton, 
one  of  the  patentees  of  the  Kayadeross^ras  grant. 
The  suit  was  brought  by  Duncan  McMartin,  attor- 
ney, with  the  aid  of  his  father-in-law,  Daniel  Cady, 
as  counsel,  against  Elisha  Rowland  who  held  about 
600  acres  in  Halfmoon  by  virtue  of  a  title  derived 
from  the  husband  of  Mrs.  Seabury.  It  was  com- 
menced in  August,  1846.  Suits  were  also  brought 
against  Truman  Mabbett  of  Halfmoon,  George  W. 
Wilcox  of  Saratoga  Springs. and  others  in  the  north 
part  of  the  county  to  recover  lands  held  by  similar 
titles.  Rowland  employed  E.  F.  Bullard,  Mabbett 
secured  John  K  Porter,  and  Judge  Warren  and 
Judiah  Ellsworth  were  retained  by  the  other 
defendants.  Although  these  lands  had  been  held 
over  fifty  years  under  tliese  titles,  Judge  Cady,  who 
h  ad  thoroughly  examined  them,  was  certain  that 
a  dverse  possession  did  not  sustain  them  because 


OF  SARATOGA  OOUITTT.  355 

the  statute  was  suspended  by  the  infancy  and 
coverture  of  the  claimants.  They  were  noticed  for 
trial  at  the  several  intervening  terras,  and  at  the 
May  Circuit,  1847,  Mr.  Cady  appeared  ready  for 
trial.  It  had  been  determined  to  make  a  test  suit 
of  the  action  against  Howland.  Judge  Cady  said 
to  Mr.  Bullard:  "You  and  lean  just  as  well  try 
this  case  in  my  room.  If  I  am  right,'  1  am  sure  you 
will  acknowledge  it  ;  but,  if  I  am  wrong,  I  don't 
want  to  be  beaten  in  open  court,  for  this  is  the  last 
cause  that  I  shall  try  as  counsel."  The  aged  coun- 
selor of  75  years  and  the  youthful  lawyer  accord- 
ingly met  in  the  former' s  room  at  xMedbery'  s  hotel 
in  Ballston  Spa,  May  25,  1847,  to  mutually  exam- 
ine the  respective  claims  and  titles  of  their  clients. 
Cady  began  with  the  Kayaderosseras  grant  and  its 
divisions,  tracing  down  the  title  by  descent  un- 
broken to  the  plaintiffs.  Mr.  Bullard  conceded 
that  this  was  a  prima  facie  case,  and  then  dis- 
closed his  evidence,  beginning  with  a  deed  from 
Seabury  to  Edward  Howland,  father  of  the  defend- 
ant. Cady  replied  :  "Seabury  had  only  a  life 
estate  and  the  coverture  and  infancy  of  the  plain- 
tiffs prevents  this  title  from  becoming  adverse." 
Mr.  Bullard  admitted  that  it  so  appeared  on  the 
face,  but  the  two  deeds  that  he  now  produced, 
which  he  had  found  recorded  in  Albany  county, 
altered  the  phase  entirely  One  was"  from  Sarah 
Broughton  Seabury  and  her  husband  to  a  third 
party  with  power  to  sell  and  convey  as  a  trustee, 
and  the  other  was  a  deed  from  the  trustee  convey- 


256  THE  BE]!^CH   AND   BAR 

ing  all  tlie  real  estate  back  to  Seabury,  the  husband. 
This  settled  the  claim  to  over  $100,000  worth  of 
real  estate.  The  great  lawyer  saw  at  once  that  he 
had  no  further  hope,  ard  said  :  "I  give  up.  Your 
title  is  clear  and  cuts  off  our  whole  claim.  Gfo  and 
tell  Judge  Willard  to  enter  a  non-suit.  I  am  going 
to  Johnstown."  The  court  records  in  the  clerk's 
office  shows  'that  a  non-suit  was  entered  in  this 
action  May  25,  1847.  It  was  the  last  cause  tried  by 
Daniel  Cady,  for  he  was  elected  a  justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  the  following  month,  being  the  only 
whig  candidate  chosen  in  the  district.  He  contin- 
ued to  hold  that  office  until  December  31,  1854, 
when  he  resigned.  He  died,  retaining  his  faculties 
to  the  last,  in  October,  1859,  in  the  eighty- seventh 
year  of  his  age.  He  was  one  of  the  purest  and 
greatest  men  who  have  adorned  the  bench  of  this 

state. 

The  suit  brought  by  Allen  J.  Holmes  against 
Lewis  Smith,  and  the  counter  suits  brought  by  Lewis 
and  Silas  G.  Smith  against  Holmes  involved  a  valu- 
able interest  relating  to  the  title  and  possession  of 
about  600  acres  of  land  in  Stillwater  and  Malta.  In 
the  spring  of  1853,  Allen  J.  Holmes  of  Pleasant 
Valley,  Dutchess  county,  bargained  with  Lewis 
Smith  of  Stillwater  to  purchase  his  farm  contain- 
ing five  hundred  and  forty-  seven  acres,  three  roods 
and  three  rods  of  land,  lying  in  three  tracts,  with 
some  reservation  of  lands  previously  sold  from  the 
original  boundaries.  The  farm  had  been  worked 
the  previous  year  by  Silas  G.  Smith,  son  of  Lewis, 


OF  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  267 

and  lie  owned  several  acres  of  rye  then  growing  on 
the  farm.     By  some  oversight  the  reservation  of 
this  grain  was  omitted  from  the  articles  of  agree- 
ment.    Smith  had  always  been  noted  for  making 
shrewd  bargains,  and  Holmes  boasted  to  some  of 
his  friends  that  the  '  'old  fox  had  been  caught  at 
last. ' '     This  reached  the  ears  of  Smith.     He  looked 
at  the  copy  of  the  agreement.     It  was  a  fact,  he  had 
been  napping,  but  still  was  not  caught.     He  hast- 
ened to  James  B.  McKean,  his  attorney.     He  could 
see  no  other  way  out  than  to  pay  the   heavy  for- 
feiture.    Other  distinguished  counselors  said  the 
same.     Smith  finally  in  his  own  mind  evolved  the 
the  following  solution:    they  were  to  meet  at  the 
county  clerk's  office  on  the  10th  of  May  to  deliver 
the  deed,  and  accept  the  mortgage  that  was  to  be 
taken  by  Smith  as  part  payment  of  the  considera- 
tion to  be  paid  for  the  farm  ;  and  he  decided  to  have 
two   deeds  drawn,   one  with  a  clause   "reserving 
grain  sowed  on  the  land  and  the  right  to  cut  and 
remove  the  same,"  and  the  other  a  simple  warranty 
deed  according  to  the  contract.     If  Holmes  should 
demur  to  the  former,  he^  would  demand  the  pay- 
ment of  the  full  consideration:  viz,  $29,905.56  in 
specie,  well  knowing  that  the  amount  could  not  be 
obtained  within  the*  specified  time  at  the  bank  in 
Ballston   Spa.     The   day   came,    Holmes  and   his 
attorney,  Abel  Meeker,  were  earl}'  on  hand  and  in 
a  jubilant  mood.     Smith  and  his  attorney,  James 
B.  McKean,  did  not  appear  until  afternoon.     Smith 
tendered   the  first  deed,   and  Holmes  declined  to 


258  THE  BElfCH  AKD  BAE 

receive  it,  for  it  was  not  "so  nominated  in  the 
bond."  Smith  tlien  tendered  the  other  deed  and 
said  he  would  take  his  pay  in  the  "legal  tender." 
This  was  a  bombshell  in  the  Holmes  camp.  Meeker 
saw  that  they  were  trapped  and  advised  his  client 
to  accept  the  former  deed.  Rather  than  pay  the 
forfeiture  he  did  so. 

But  though  vanquished  he  was  tiot  yet  beaten. 
He  secured  Nathaniel  J.  Seel^y,  a  surveyor,  of 
Ballston  Spa,  to  survey  the  farm,  and  he  in  run- 
ning the  courses  as  mentioned  in  the  deed  found 
that  there  was  not  so  many  a(5res  as  that  instrument 
called  for.  Holmes  then  began  an  action  for  dam- 
ages, alleging  a  breach  of  covenant.  When  the 
first  payment  came  due  on  the  mortgage  he  refused 
to  honor  it,  and  Smith  began  a  suit  on  the  bond. 
Holmes  demurred,  and  in  this  stage  it  went  to  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  where  the  demurrer  was  sus- 
tained. The  first  action  was  referred  to  Cornelius 
A.  Waldron  to  hear  and  determine.  Smith  had 
the  farm  surveyed  by  Norman  Seymour,  a  civil 
engineer  residing  in  Stillwater.  Having  the  assis- 
tance of  parties  who  knew  the  '  ancient  landmarks ' 
his  survey  tallied  with  the  deed  as  nearly  as  a  sur- 
vey of  a  farm  composed  of  several  different  pur- 
chases of  land  could  be  expected  to,  when  it  is  taken 
into  consideration  that  hardly  one  of  them  was  one 
of  the  original  lot  lines  and  that  tlie  tract  had  as 
many  angles  as  the  palace  of  the  Escurial.  The  ref- 
eree found  for  defendant.  His  report  was  set  aside 
by  the  Supreme  Court  on  the  ground  that  Seymour' s 


OF  SARATOOA  COUNTY.  259 

chain  was  sworn  by  liim  to  be  graduated  according 
to  the  United  States  scale,  and  the  court,  in  a.  vir 
tuous  states'  rights  mood,  declared  that  it  should  be 
according  to  the  Neio  York  scale.  It  is  a  singular 
fact  that  the  units  are  of  the  same  length  by  both 
standai'ds.  A  new  survey  was  ordered  and  Delos 
E.  Culver,  a  quite  prominent  civil  engineer,  was 
designated  to  conduct  it.  Silas  G.  Smith,  also, 
began  an  action  against  Holmes  for  damage  to  his 
grain  hj  the  latter' s  cattle  and  recovered  judgment, 
which  was  appealed  to  the  higher  courts.  While 
these  three  suits  thus  "hung  tire,"  in  the  winter 
of  1860,  Mr.  Holmes  was  suddenly  taken  ill 
and  died.  The  actions  were  finally  settled  by  the 
Smiths  and  the  executors  of  Holmes,  and  thus  they 
withdrew  from  the  courts.  Gen.  Bullard  v/as  asso- 
cirted  with  Judge  McKean  as  counsel  for  Smith. 
James  W.  Culver  assisted  Mr.  Meeker  as  counsel 
for  Holmes. 

The  third  case  is  that  of  Hiram  Wood  against 
Michael  de  LaFayette.  .The  defendant  is  a  French 
Canadian  who,  in  1858,  purchased  a  forty  acre  lot 
in  the  town  of  Milton,  which  had  formerly  been 
•  owned  by  James  Mann,the  elder.  He  claimed  that 
the  nprth  line  of  the  lot  was  not  as  it  existed  at  the 
time  of  his  purchase,  but  as  it  did  when  it  was 
occupied  by  Mann.  Accordingly  he  removed  his 
fence  from  the  position  in  which  it  had  stood  over 
forty  years  to  the  line  which  was  named  in  Mann' s 
deed,  the  distance  of  twenty  four  links,  and  cut  the 
timber  then  growing  on  the  land.    This  narrow  belt 


260  THE  BENCH  AMD   BAR 

of  sandy  land,  not  worth  twenty  dollars  and  less 
than  two -thirds  of  an  acre  in  extent,  has  been  the 
source  of  a  litio[:ation  which  bids  fair  to  outlive  its 
prominent  actors.  Wood  sued  in  justice's  court, 
declaring  in  trespass  for  cutting  trees  upon  lands 
in  his  possession.  J.  S.  L' Amoreaux  was  his  attor- 
ney. The  defendant,  by  Joseph  LeBoeuf,  his  attor- 
ney, df^nied  m]1  tlie  allegations  and  set  up  a  claim 
of  title  in  himself  to  the  premises.  The  action  was 
thus  removed  to  the  Supreme  Court,  where  John 
Brotherson  nppeared  as  defendant's  attorney  and 
the  is?u«'  w}>;s  joined.  The  plaintiif  declared  upon 
his  deeds  ai  .d  the  fact  of  his  possession  of  the  prem- 
ises and  that  the  defendant  had  never  been  lawfully 
seized  of  them.  The  defendant  stood  upon  the 
boundaii<-3  of  the  deed  to  James  Mann,  from  v.hom 
his  title  emanated,  in  1815.  The  action  was  tried 
at  the  Saratoga  Circuit  in  May,  1868,  before  Judge 
James.  The  defendant's  offer  to  prove  the  ancient 
boundary  was  ruled  out  and  excluded,  and  a  judg- 
ment was  entered  against  him  for  $50.  He  appealed 
to  the  General  Term  and  the  judgment  was  affirmed. 
He  further  appealed  to  the  Court  of  Appeals  and  a 
new  trial  was  ordered.  (See  46  J\\  T.  Rep.  484.) 
The  second  ti-ial  was  had  at  the  January  Circuit, 
1874,  before  Justice  Joseph  Potter.  He  allowed 
the  defendant  to  prove  that  an  agreement  to  submit 
the  line  in  question  to  the  arbitration  of  James 
Maim,  the  younger  (since  deceased),  for  him  to 
determine  is  to  its  (joirect  latitude  had  been  revoked 
bj'  the  plaintiff,  but  excluded  the  deeds  and  docu- 


OF   SAEATOGA   COUNTY.  261 

mentary  evidence  offered  by  the  defendant ;  charg- 
ing the  jury  that  "the  title  to  the  lands  between 
the  plaintiff  and  defendant  shall  be  determined, 
not  by  reference  to  the  deeds,  nor  by  reference  to 
any  other  fact  than  this,  that  one  of  them  is  to  own 
to  the  extent  that  James  Mann  occupied."  It  was 
shown  in  proof  that  Mann  had  only  occupied  the 
cleared  land  and  that  LaFayette  had  purchased  the 
land  as  the  line  fences  then  stood.  The  jury  again 
found  a  verdict  for  the  plaintiff  for  $50.  Judgment 
was  tlereupon  entered  for  $679.47  damages  and 
costs.  The  General  Term  has  again  affirmed  the 
verdict,  and  a  motion  for  a  new  trial  is  now  pend- 
ing in  the  Court  of  Appeals.  L' Amoreaux  &  Dake 
and  L.  B.  Pike  have  zealously  guarded  the  claims 
of  the  plaintiff,  and  John  Brotherson  has  been 
equally  strenuous  in  defending  the  asserted  rights 
of  the  defendant.  When  or  how  it  will  'end  the 
soothsayers  prophesy  not. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

SARATOGA'S  CIRCUIT  JUDGES. 

Reuben  Hyde  Walworth,  the  "Last  of  the  Chan- 
cellors," was  a  son  of  Benjamin  Walworth  of 
Bozrah,  Connecticut,  in  which  town  he  was  born 
October  26,  1788.  During  his  early  boyhood  his 
father  removed  to  the  town  of  Hoosick  in  this  state, 
where  he  lived  the  life  of  an  honest  and  respected 
tiller  of  the  soil.  The  educational  advantages 
offered  to  young  Walworth  were  very  meager.  He 
graphically  describes  them  in  his  address  to  the  bar 
on  taking  his  seat  as  Chancellor,  April  28,  1828  : 

Gentlemen  of  the  Bar:  In  assuming  the  duties  of  this 
highly  responsible  station,  which  at  some  future  day  would  have 
been  the  highest  objeci  of  nay  ambition,  permit  me  to  say,  that  the 
solicitations  of  my  too  partial  friends,  rather  than  my  own  incli- 
nation, or  my  own  judgment,  hare  inclined  me  to  consent  to  occupy 
il'at  this  time.  Brought  up  a  farmer's  boy  until  the  age  of  seven- 
teen, deprived  of  all  the  advantages  of  a  classical  education,  and 
with  a  v;^rv  limited  knowledge  of  chancery  law,  I  find  myself,  at 
the  age  of  88,  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
judiciary  of  the  state  ;  a  situation  which  h 'retefore  has  been  filled 
by  the  most  able  and  experienced  members  of  the  profession. 
Under  these  circumstances,  and  when  those  able  and  intelligent 
judges,  who  for  the  last  five  years  have  don«  honor  to  the  bench 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  all  decline  the  arduous  and  responsible 
duties  of  this  statioa,  it  would  bean  excess  of  vanity  in  me,  or  in 
any  one  in  my  situation,  to  suppose  he  could  discharge  those 
duties  to  the  satisfaction  even  of  the  most  indulgent  friends.    But 


OF  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  263 

the  uniform  kindness  and  civility  with  which  I  have  been  treaved 
by  every  member  of  the  profession,  and,  in  fact,  by  all  classes  of 
citizens,  while  I  occupied  a  seat  on  the  bench  raf  the  Circuit  Court, 
afford  the  strongest  assurance  that  your  best  wishes  for  my  success 
will  follow  me  here.  And,  in  return,  I  can  only  assure  ;,'ou,  Ihjit  I 
will  spare  no  exertions  in  endeavoring  to  deserve  the  approbation 
of  an  enlightened  bar,  and  an  inteliii^ent  coinmanity  "  (See  1 
Paige's  Clumcery  Beports.) 

The  Walworth  ffimlly  is  an  ancient  one  in  Con- 
necticut, tracing;  its  origin  to  the  historic  Walworth, 
lord  mayor  of  London,  who  slew  the  rebel  Watt 
Tyler,  in  the  reign  of  Ri.'-hard  II.  Becoming  unfit- 
ted for  a  farmer' s  life  by  an  accident,  the  future 
Chancellor  studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
soon  after  attaining  his  majoiity.  In  1814,  he 
served  as  an  aid  on  the  statf  of  Major  General 
Mooers,  and  took  an  important  part  in  the  battle  of 
Plattsburgh.  After  the  war  he  again  entered  on 
practice  of  his  profession  at  Plattsburg,  where  he 
had  settled  ill  1810.  He  was  appointed  Circuit 
Judge  for  the  fourth  circuit,  April  21,  1823,  by 
Governor  Joseph  C.  Yates,  with  the  consent  of  the 
senate.  He  held  the  office  for  five  years.  He  was 
noted  for  his  prompt  and  fearless  administration  of 
the  laws  in  the  civil  and  criminal  branches  of  his 
courts.  In  this  and  other  counties  he  was  fre- 
quently called  on  to  adjudicate  claims  to  lands  in 
the  patents  granted  under  the  seal  and  sign  manual 
of  Lord  Cornbury.  Soon  after  his  appointment  he 
removed  to  Saratoga  Springs,  where  he  resided 
until  his  death,  with  the  exception  of  the  interval 
from   1828   to   1883,    when  he  had  a  residence  in 


264  THE  BENCH  AND   BAR. 

Albany.  "Pine  Grove,"  his  Saratoga  seat,  became 
in  the  legal  "Mecca'  of  the  bar  of  this  state. 
Drawn  thither  by  business  in  his  court  came  G-ovs. 
Tompkins,  DeWitt  Clinton,  Yates,  Van  Buren, 
Marcy,  Throop,  Wright,  Seward  and  Tilden  ; 
Presidents  Buchanan  and  Fillmore;  Charles  O'Con- 
or,  B.  F.  Butler,  the  three  Spencers,  Elisha  Wil- 
liams, Samuel  Stevens,  Thomas  Addis  Emmett  and 
Daniel  Webster,  and  there  he  entertained  his  breth- 
ren of  the  bench,  Kent  and  Story  and  Grier  ;  besides 
hosts  of  men  and  women  widely  known  in  the 
clerical,  military  and  civil  professions  and  in  the 
literary  walks  of  life.  Perhaps  the  most  widely 
remembered  case  tried  before  him  as  a  criminal 
judge  was  the  indictment  against  the  three  brothers, 
Nelson  Thayer,  Isauc  Thayer  and  Israel  Thayer,  jr., 
charging  them  with  the  murder  of  John  Love,  at 
the  town  of  Boston,  Erie  county,  December  24, 
1824.  Their  object  was  to  secure  the  money  of 
Love,  who  was  an  inoffensive,  harmless  bachelor, 
who  made  his  home  in  the  family  of  Nelson.  They 
were  engaged  in  killing  pork  at  the  barn  of  Israel 
Thayer,  jr.,  and  th^y  "mingled  his  blood  with  that 
of  their  butchered  swine."  Possessing  themselves 
of  the  few  hundreds  of  dollars  he  was  known  to  have 
on  his  person,  they  buried  his  body  under  the  rub- 
bish of  a  lately  cleared  forest.  The  passing  of  a 
certain  bill,  known  to  have  been  in  the  possession 
of  Love,  by  Israel  Thayer,  jr.,  and  the  fact  of  his 
disappearance  led  to  the  arrest  of  Israel  Thayer, 
senior,  and  his  three  sons.     Confronted  with  the 


Ot  SARATOGA  COltWTT.  265 

facts  obtained,  tlie  father  confessed  the  crime,  and 
the  body  was  found  where  he  indicated.     They 
were  indicted  on  his  confession,  and,  at  the  Oyer 
and  Terminer  held  in  Buffalo  in  April,  1825,    the 
three  sons   were  convicted  of  willful  murder,  and 
the  father  of  being  an  accessory   both  before  and 
after  the  fact.     The  sons  were  executed  at  Buffalo, 
June  17,  1825  ;  and  the  wretched  father  was  sen- 
tenced to  states  prison  for  ten  years  and  ended  his 
life  in  a  cell.     The  language  of  Judge  Walworth  in 
passing  the  "dreadful  sentence  of  the  law,"  which 
consigned  to  the  gallows  "  three  young  men  who 
have  just  arrived   at   manhood,    standing   in  the 
relation  to  each  other  of  brothers"  was  touching  in 
the  extreme  ;  awakening  in  his  heart,  as  he  said, 
"feelings  which  are  too  painful  to  be  expressed." 
The  office  of  Chancellor  having  be(;ome  vacant,  the 
position  was  tendered  Judge   Walworth  by   Gov. 
Pitcher.     He   reluctantly  accepted  it  and  the  ap- 
pointment was  confirmed  by  the  senate  April  22, 
1828.     His  predecessors  in   the  Equity   Chamber 
were   Robert   R.    Livingston,    John   Lansing,   jr., 
James  Kent,  Nathan  Sanford  and  Samuel  Jones. 
He  at  once  entered  upon  his  new  duties  and  ably 
sustained  the  reputation  of  the  court  which  had 
been  presided    over    by    such    brilliant    men  as 
had  gone  before  him.     He  held  the  oflBce  until  it 
was  abolished  by  the  constitution  of  1846.     The 
record  of  the  court  and  its  veritable  parchment  roll 
of  attorneys  are  now  filed  in  the  state  library  at 
Albany.     He  had  strict  notions  of  honesty  and 
12 


266  THE  BENCH  AND  BAE 

integrity,  and  the  Chancellor' s  court  being  -'ircum- 
scribed  by  no  rules  of  law,  he  often  astonished 
solicitors  who  appeared  before  him  by  the  quick 
manner  in  which  he  saw  through  their  legal  quib- 
bles and  subterfuges  and  brushing  them  away  like 
cobwebs  applied  the  strict  dictates  of  equity  to 
their  cases.  The  only  office  he  ever  held  outside 
of  the  state  was  representative  in  congress  from  Clin- 
ton county  from  1821  to  1823.  In  1844,  he  was  nom- 
inated to  a  seat  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  by  President  Tyler,  but  was 
rejected  by  the  senate  ;  southern  S'^nators  deeming 
him  unsound  on  the  "peculiar  institution."  He 
was  the  Democratic  candidate  in  1848  for  gov- 
ernor. The  Van  Buren  split  in  the  party  was  the 
cause  of  his  defeat,  and  his  whig  opponent,  Hamil- 
ton Pish,  was  elected  by  a  plurality  vote.  The 
other  candidate  was  Gov.  Jolm  A.  Dix,  Chan- 
cellor Walworth  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife 
was  Miss  Maria  K.  Averill  of  Plattsburgh.  Sub- 
sequent to  her  death,  he  was  united  tf)  the  widow 
of  CoL  John  J.  Hardin  of  Hlinois,  who  gallantly 
fell  at  the  head  of  his  regiment  at  Buena  Vista. 
She  ^uivived  him  eight  yeai-s.  In  his  latter  j^ears 
he  was  appointed  a  referef^  by  the  United  States 
Circuit  Court  to  take  the  evidence  in  the  celebrated 
Corning  and  Burden  "'  hook  spike  head  case  ;""  in 
which  Bu]'den,  the  givat  Ti'ojan  iron  king,  claimed 
that  Corning,  his  Albany  rival,  had  infringed  on 
his  patents.  It  occupied  in  its  trial  over  ten  years, 
and  he  filed  his  report  but  a  few  months  previous 


OP  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  267 

to  his  death.  He  was  a  sufferer  from  diabetes  for 
a  long  time,  and  finally  he  was  relieved  from  his 
earthly  pain,  November  28,1866,  and  the  "Last  of 
the  Chancellors"  was  laid  to  sleep  in  the  beautiful 
Greenridge  cemetery  at  Saratoga  Springs.  He  was 
for  many  years  a  prominent  member  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  church  in  that  village.  He  was  a 
great  advocate  and  worker  in  the  cause  of  total 
abstinence,  and  was  chosen  first  president  of  the 
New  York  State  Temperance  Society  in  February,' 
1829,  and  subsequently  president  of  the  American 
Temperance  Union. 

Esek  Cowen  was  born  in  Rhode  Island,  February 
24,  1784.  He  was  the  son  of  Joseph  Cowen,  who 
was  a  descendant  from  a  Scotch  emigrant  who  set- 
tled in  Scituate,  Mass.,  in  1656.  His  ather  removed 
to  this  county  in  the  colony  from  Connecticut  which 
embraced,  among  others  of  the  pioneers  of  Gfreen- 
field,  the  Fitch  and  Child  families,  about  1793. 
The  elder  Cowen  settled  near  Scott's  corners.  A 
few  years  later  h©  removed  to  the  town  of  Hart- 
ford, Washington  county,  and  purchased  a  ikrm 
on  which  young  Cowen  labored  in  his  early  years. 
His  son,  P.  H.  Cowen,  Esq. ,  informs  me  that  his 
father  has  repeatedly  told  him  that  the  only  educa- 
tional advantages  he  ever  enjoyed  was  six  mcntlis 
attendance  in  a  neighborhood  school.  Hp  had  been 
gifted  by  Nature  with  a  most  retentive  memory  and 
he  gathered  much  useful  knowledge  from  the  stud- 
ies of  his  younger  brother,  Solomon,  who  read 
aloud  to  him  from  his  text  books.     It  would  be 


268  THE  &EKOH  AND  BAR 

hard  to  determine  which  gained  the  most  advan- 
tage, the  reader  or  the  hearer  ;  at  any  rate  the  latter 
became  a  most  patient  and  carefal  listener,  a  quality 
eminently  necessary  in  a  judge.  He,  also,  while 
engaged  in  tending  the  tires  of  his  father' s  lime 
kilns,  kept  his  book  by  his  side,  and  while  disen- 
gaging the  free  carbonate  from  its  ancient  chemical 
bonds,  was  storing  his  mind  with  the  classic  and 
scientific  lore  of  ancient  and  modern  times.  Here 
he  gained  that  quality  of  observation  which  enabled 
him  in  later  years,  as  has  been  said  of  him,  to  pur- 
sue two  chains  of  thoughts  at  the  same  time,  to 
carefully  listen  to  the  argument  of  an  advocates 
closely  compare  it  with  the  points  made  by  the 
opposing  counselor  and  be  ready  at  the  moment  of 
conclusion  with  a  decision  touching  concisely  upon 
all  its  bearings.  He  became  a  thorough  master  of 
classical  and  English  literature.  He  early  turned 
his  attention  to  the  law  and  entered  the  office  of 
Roger  Skinner  at  Sandy  Hill.  His  fellow  students 
were  Silas  Wright,  jr.,  Zelulon  R.  Shipherd  and 
Gardner  Stow,  all  men  who  left  the  impress  of  their 
lives  on  the  age  in  which  they  lived.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  Supreme  Court  bar  in  18U).  Form- 
ing a  law  partnership  with  VVessell  Gansevoort, 
they  opened  an  office  and  began  the  practice  of  the 
law  at  Ganzevoort ;  from  whence  he  removed  to 
Saratoga  Springs  in  1812.  He  soon  took  a  front 
rank  at  the  bar  of  this  county.  He  married  in  1812, 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Rogers,  the  widowed  daughter  of 
Col.  Sidney  Berry  of  Saratoga,  a  brave  revolution- 


OP  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  269 

ary  officer,  who  was  a  judge  of  this  county  and  its 
first  surrogate,  holding  the  office  from  1791  to  1794, 
and  was  a  member  of  assembly  from  Albany  county 
in  1791,  the  year  our  county  was  erected,  and  was 
also  chosen  the  next  year  with  Elias  Palmer  to  be 
the  first  assemblymen  from  Saratoga  county.  Mr. 
Co  wen  was  appointed  "  Reporter  in  the  Supreme 
Court  and  Court  of  Errors"  in  May,  1824,  and  held 
the  position  until  August,  1828.  His  reports  are 
contained  in  nine  volumes  and  are  highly  prized  by 
the  profession.  He  was  appointed  Circuit  Judge  by 
Gov.  Pitcher,  April  22,  1828,  and  on  the  appoint- 
ment of  Judge  Samuel  Nelson  to  be  Chief  Justice, 
on  the  retirement  of  John  Savage,  he  was  appointed 
apfdsne  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  this  state 
by  Gov.  Marcy,  August  31,  1836 ;  which  position 
he  held  until  his  death.  Judge  Co  wen  presided 
with  firmness  and  dignity  while  on  the  bench,  and 
was  very  exacting  of  the  bar  in  the  economy  of 
time.  On  the  occasion  of  his  holding  his  first  Cir- 
cuit Court  in  Troy  he  took  his  seat  on  the  bench  at 
the  appointed  hour.  Not  an  attorney  was  present. 
Under  a  lax  discipline  tliey  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  not  appearing  in  the  court  room  before  eleven 
o'clock.  He  called  the  calendar  and  no  causes 
being  ready,  he  ordered  the  clerk,  Archibald  Bull, 
to  adjourn  the  cturt  until  the  next  morning  at  nine 
o'clock,  adding  the  remark,  that  if  nothing  was 
ready  for  trial  at  that  hour  he  would  adjourn  the 
term  sine  die.  The  bar  took  the  hint,  and  the 
untiring  judge  worked  them  until  ten  in  the  evening 


270  THE  BETTCH  ANB  BAB 

each  day  of  the  term.  On  another  occasion  he 
drove  to  Elizabethtown,  Essex  county,  in  a  heavy 
snow  storm  to  attend  an  adjourned  term.  Arriving 
at  the  court  house  he  found  it  unopened  and  no 
one  in  sight  at  the  appointed  hour.  He  got  out  of 
his  sleigh,  leaving  his  son,  my  informant,  holding 
the  reins,  went  upon  the  steps,  adjourned  the  term 
without  day  and  started  for  Plattsburgh,  before  the 
dilatory  court  officers  and  bar  knew  of  his  presence. 
As  a  criminal  judge  he  was  strenuous  in  defending 
the  liberties  of  citizens,  holding  prosecuting  attor- 
neys to  prove  the  guilt  of  a  prisoner  beyond  the 
peradventure  of  a  doubt  before  asking  a  jury  to 
convict  him.  While  sitting  on  the  supreme  bench 
he  assisted  in  deciding  many  knotty  legal  points, 
and  his  opinions  are  yet  frequently  quoted  in  this 
and  other  states.  A  gentleman,  who  has  attended 
the  sessions  of  the  Queen's  Bench  in  England, 
informs  me  that  Cowen  is  frequently  quoted  by  the 
English  sergeants  and  barristers.  His  most  cele- 
brated opinion  was  that  involving  a  question  of 
international  law.  McLeod,  a  Canada  patriot,  in 
the  rebellion  of  1887,  had  been  arrested  for  waging 
war  against  a  nation  with  whom  our  country  was 
at  peace.  His  case  was  brought  before  the  Supreme 
Court  on  a  habeas  corpus,  but  it  refused  to  dis- 
charge him.  "The  court,"  says  a  learned  author- 
ity of  that  day,  "  in  refusing  to  discharge  McLeod, 
have  nobly  maintained  the  supremacy  of  the  laws, 
and  vindicated  the  dignity  and  rights  of  this  state." 
The  opinion  was  written  by  Judge  Cowen  and  was 


OF  8ABATOGA  COUNTY.  271 

coincided  iu  by  Chief  Justice  Nelsf)n  and  Judge 
Bronson,  liis  associates  on  the  bench.     Hh  carefully 
distinguished  between  the  jurist  and   f!ie  citizen. 
At  the  same  time  he,  as  a  judge,  was  oondemning 
McLeod  for  his  connection  with  the  r^'iie.lion,  by 
going  from  this  state  to  war  upon  Grent   Britain  ; 
he,  as  a  citizen,  was  entertaining  Pa  pin -an,  Bid- 
well,  O'Callaghan  and  others  of  that  ill -fat(^d  band, 
at  his  residence  in  Saratoga  Springs.     He  died  in 
Albany  after  a  brief  illness,  during  a  session  of  the 
court,  February  11,  1844,  having  nearly  completed 
the  age  of  fifty  seven  years.     Judge  Co  wen  was  a 
devoted  member  of  the  Episcopal  commnnion,  and 
was  one  of  the  founders  jf  Bethesda  parish  Sara- 
toga Springs.     He  was  buried  in  the  Putnam  bury- 
ing ground,  but  his  reniains  have  since   been  re- 
moved to  a  family  plot  in   Greenridge   cemetery. 
In  his  early  life  he  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the 
peace,  and,  in  1821,  he  was  elected  second  super- 
visor .of  Saratoga  Springs,  and  was  re-elected  in 
1822.     Besides  his  "Reports,"  he  has  bequeathed 
to  the  profession  as  the  work  of  his  pen  a  ''  Treatise 
on  the  Practice  in  Justices'  C(mrts,"  suggested  by 
the  want  of  such  a  work  when  he  held  that  position, 
which  'has  frequently  formed  for  years   the   only 
library  of  country  practitioners  in  those  humble 
tribunals  ;  and  "Notes  on  Phillips'  Evidence,"  pre- 
pared in  connection  with  Nicholas  Hill,  jr.     Pre- 
vious to  his  elevation  to  the  bench  he  had  entered 
into  the  law  partnerships  with  Judge  Warren  and 
Judiah  Ellsworth.     The  latter  now  is  almost  the 


272  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

sole  survivor  of  those  who  had  the  good  fortune  to 
be  intimately  acquainted  with  Judge  Cowen. 

John  Willard  was  a  prominent  member  for  many 
years  of  our  stat^  judiciary.  He  was  born  in  Guil- 
foi-d,  Connecticut,  May  20,  1792.  His  paternal 
ancestry  dates  back  to  the  settlement  of  that  town 
in  1669,  and  came  from  the  Puritan  stock  which 
came  over  with  John  Winthrop  and  settled  at 
Massachusetts  bay.  He  was  educated  at  Middle- 
bury  College,  Middlebury,  Vermont,  and  was  grad- 
uated therefrom  in  August,  1813,  in  the  same  class 
with  Silas  Wright,  jr.,  and  Samuel  Nelson.  He 
studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1817. 
He  established  himself  at  Salem,  Washington 
county,  where  he  soon  gained  the  reputation  of 
being  a  model  lawyer.  He  was  appointed  first 
judge  of  Washington  county  by  Gov.  Marcy,  Feb- 
ruary 13,  1833,  to  succeed  Hon.  Ropwell  Weston  ; 
having  held  the  office  of  surrogate  by  appointment 
the  previous  year.  He  was  appointed  Circuit 
Judge,  September  3,  1836,  to  succeed  Judge  Cowen, 
transferred  to  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
He  held  this  office  until  1847,  when  it  was  abolished. 
The  same  year  he  was  elected  by  the  people  to  the 
new  office  of  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  for  the 
fourth  district,  along  with  Daniel  Cady,  Alonzo  C. 
Paige  and  Augustus  C.  Hand.  He  drew  the  term 
for  six  years,  next  to  the  longest,  which  fell  to  Jus- 
tice Hand.  He  served  his  term,  and  on  its  expira- 
tion retired  from  the  bench  ;  Hon.  A.  B.  James 
having  been  elected  to  succeed  him.     As  a  judge 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  273 

he  was  noted  for  his  quick  perceptions  and  firm- 
ness in  ruling  as  he  conceived  to  be  right.  His 
career  as  a  jurist  was  such  as  to  win  for  him  the 
universil  esteem  of  the  bar  of  tl»e  state.  On  his 
appointment  to  the  office  of  Circuit  Judge,  he 
remos'-ed  to  Saratoga  Springs,  to  be  convenient  of 
access  by  railroad  to  the  counselors  who  had  busi- 
ness before  him  as  Vice  Chancellor.  In  1856,  he  was 
appointed  by  President  Pierce,  on  the  advice  of  his 
attorney-general,  Hon.  Caleb  Cushing,  one  of  the 
commissioners  to  examine  into  the  validity  of  the 
Mexican  land  grants  in  California.  He  performed 
this  arduous  duty  in  a  most  thorough  and  satisfac- 
tory manner,  and  the  United  States  Supreme  Court 
was  guided  by  his  findings  in  their  decisions  oi 
the  "Mariposa,"  "New  Almaden"  and  other 
claims.  In  1861,  he  was  unanimously  elected  to 
the  state  senate  and  served  in  the  first  session.  His 
labors  there  were  to  sustain  the  national  govern- 
ment in  its  contest  with  traitors ;  and  he,  also,  did 
much  to  correct  the  faults  he  had  seen  as  a  judge 
to  exist  in  the  laws  concerning  the  crime  ot  mur- 
der, and  the  rights  of  married  women  to  control 
their  separate  estates.  Before  the  next  session  met 
he  had  been  called  up  higher  ;  having  closed  his 
busy  and  eventful  life,  August  31,  1862.  As  a  law- 
yer and  a  judge  he  believed  in  a  strict  administra- 
tion of  the  criminal  laws,  rightly  judging  that  the 
lawyer  who  prostituted  lis  talents  to  defend  by 
"quirks  and  quibbles"   a  notorious  offender  was 


374  THE  BEll^CH  AMD  BAR 

directly  responsible  for  the  rapid  increase  of  crime. 
In  his  writings  he  says  : 

In  the  beginning,  as  a  poor  young  lawyer  getting  business  slowly 
I  had  strong  tenaptations.  I  was  sometimes  assigned  by  courts  to 
defend  bad  men,  but  then  ray  only  duty  was  to  set  forth  any 
extenuating  circumstances.  Scoundrels  who  deserved  punishment 
soon  learned  to  ki  ep  clear  of  me.  As  for  such  poor  fellows,  how- 
ever, as  had  been  thoughtlessly  led  into  crime,  I  would  frequently 
give  them  advice,  gratis,  after  telling  them  to  repent  and  reform." 

How  strikingly  does  this  compare  with  the  con- 
duct of  David  Dudley  Field  in  defending  the  notori- 
ous Tweed  and  the  ' '  Ring  thieves' '  of  New  York  ; 
and  with  other  instances  which  might  be  men- 
tioned, which,  reflect  no  honor  on  the  advocates, 
and  which  have  exerted  a  baneful  influence  on  the 
rising  generation.  Upon  leaving  the  bench.  Judge 
Willard  began  the  preparations  of  important  works 
which  alone  would  commend  him  to  the  admiration 
of  the  profession.  His  treatises  on  "Equity  Juris 
prudence,"  "  Executors,  Administrators  and  Gruar- 
dians,"  and  "Real  Estate  and  Conveyancing,  "says 
his  fiiend,  Hon.  O.  L.  Barbour,  himself  a  distin- 
guished legal  author:  "Are  the  results  of  an 
unwearied  industry,  and  the  fruits  of  a  long  and 
ripe  experience.  They  will  ever  be  regarded  as  a 
valuable  legacy  left  to  his  brethren,  by  one  wlio 
loved  his  profession  and  was  proud  to  pay  the 
debt  he  owed  it."  Much  of  his  success  in  life  he 
attributed  to  the  judicious  advice  of  his  aunt,  Mrs. 
Emma  Willard,  the  distinguished  educator,  in 
whose  family  he  had  a  home  in  his  college  days. 


OP- SARATOGA  COUNTY.  275 

He  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his  daughter, an  only 
child,  in  1853.  His  wife,  to  whom  he  was  united  in 
1829,  died  in  1859.  Her  maiden  name  was  Miss 
Emma  Smith.  They  were  for  many  years  mem- 
bers of  the  First  Pre  sb3teri  an  church  in  Saratoga 
Springs.  They,  also,  are  interred  in  Greenridge 
cemetery. 

Augustus  Bockes,  though  by  his  title  he  is  a 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  has  ably  and  hon- 
orably performed  the  functions  of  a  judge  at  Cir- 
cuit for  nearly  a  score  of  years.  He  was  born  near 
Greenfield  Center,  October  1,  1817.  His  father, 
Adam  Bockes,  jr.,  was  a  farmer  and  was  held  in 
high  esteem  by  his  tovvnsui'^n.  He  was  supervisor 
of  the  town  in  1834.  He  bi  ought  his  son  up  in  the 
ordinary  routine  of  o.  farmer's  boy  life,  giving  him 
tlie  advantages  of  the  district  school  to  obtain  an 
education.  Arriving  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years, 
young  Bockes  took  and  taught  a  school,  and  for 
three  successive  winters  wa^v  "  lord  of  the  birch  and 
ferule"  in  the  daj'-s  when  ''boarding  around"  was 
the  common  lot  of  the  school  teacher.  The  two 
intervening  summers  he  passed  in  study  at  the 
Buir  Seminary,  at  Man(;hef=ter,  Yermont.  He  then 
begail  his  legal  studies  in  the  oxSce  of  Judiah  Ells- 
worth in  the  spring  of  1838,  and  a  year  later  en- 
tered the  office  of  Beach  &  Cowen.  The  latter  being 
Sidney  J.  Cowen,  whose  death  at  sea  has  has  been 
previously  related.  He  was  admitted  to  practice 
in  1842.  He  opened  an  ofRce  in  connection  with 
Stephen  P.  Nash.     Afterwards,  he  formed  a  law 


276  THE  BETfOH  ATTD   BAB. 

partnership  with  William  A.  Beach,  which  con- 
tinued  until  1847,   when  he  was  chosen  to  be  the 
first  county  judge,  at  the  special  judicial  election 
held  June  4,  1847,  at  which  he  was  tlie  whig  can- 
didate for  that  office.     The   democrats   nominated 
the  veteran  lawyer,  George  W.  Kirtlatid  of  Water- 
ford.     The  contest  resulted  in  the  e](^ction  of  Mr. 
Bockes  by  a  handsome  majority.     Such  was  the 
beginning  of  what  has  proved  a  brilliant  judicial 
career.     The  honor  thus  conferred  on  her  son  has 
been  reflected  on  the  county  which  gave  him  birth. 
In  November,  1851,  he  was  re-elected  by  a  majority 
of  1,205  over  Edward  F.    Bullard.     Justice  Cady 
having  resigned   his  soat  on  the  beiidi.  Governor 
Clark,  January  1,  1856,  appointed  Judge   Bockes 
to  the  vacant  justiceship.     He   served    under  that 
appointment  until    the  expiration  of   his  term  the 
ensuing  December.     H'  s  appearance  at  the  Circuits 
held  by   him    and   the   record  that  he  made  was 
such  as  to  commend  hi  n  to  the  bar  and  public  gen- 
erally, and  he  was  urge!  to  place  himself  before  the 
people  for  an   electioi    to   that  high   office.     He 
declined,  and  returned  to  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession, and  Enoch  Rosekrans  was  chosen  to  suc- 
ceed him.     Four  years  later,  on  the  expiration  of 
the  term  of  Justice  Cornelius  L.  Allen, "he  accepted 
a  nomination  from  the  Republican  party  and  was 
elected  over  that  popular  judge.     In  1867,  he  was 
again   placed  in  nomination  and,  the  democrats 
making  no  nomination,  was  elected  without  oppo- 
sition.    This  was  a  high  honor  to  an  upright  judge. 


Oi*  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  21"? 

In  1873,  Gov,  Dix  designated  him  to  be  one  of  the 
justices  to  sit  at  General  Term  for  the  third  depart- 
ment.    In  1866,  he  had  a  seat  on  the  bench  of  tiie 
Court  of  xlppeals,   in  due  course  under  the  pro 
visions  of  tlie  constitution,   as  it  was  previous  to 
the  amendment  of  1869.     In  1875,  it  was  generally 
understood  that  he  would  not  make  a  canvass  to 
secure  a  re-election,  but  would  hold  himself  at  the 
will  of  the  people  as  expressed  in  the  party  con- 
ventions and  at  the  ballot  box.     The  result  proved 
his  judicial  and  personal  popularity,   for  he  re- 
ceived a  compliment  that  has  never  been  given  to 
any  other  citizen  of  the  state — he  was  nominated  by 
both  parties   unanimously  and  elected  by  a  full 
vote  of  the  people  of  this  judicial  district.    A  higher 
mark  of  conhdence  cannot  be  paid  to  a  citizen  of 
our  republic.     Gov.  Tilden  showed  his  apprecia- 
tion of  his  worth  by  again  designating  him  as  a  jus- 
tice to  sit  at  General  Term.     Judge  Bockes  is  noted 
for  his  courtly  manners  and  the  dignity  and  urban- 
ity with  which  he  presides  on  the  bench.    Quick  to 
comprehend  a  point  about  to  be  made  by  an  advo- 
cate, he  often  anticipates  him  by  a  decision  of  that 
question.     His  opinions  as  given  on  the  bench  at 
the   County  Courts,  Circuits,  and  General  Terms 
have   rarely  been  overruled  when  carried  to  the 
court  of  last  resort.     His  friends  have  hopes  of  his 
yet  attaining  a  seat  on  the  bench  of  the  Court  of 
Appeals,  for  which  position  he  is  rarely  litted  by 
his  habits  of  close  reasoning  and  logical  applica- 
tion.    Judge  Bockes  was  united  quite  early  in  life 
12* 


278  THE  BENCH  AITD  BAR 

to  Miss  Mary  Hay,  daughter  of  Hon.  William  Hay 
of  Saratoga  Springs.  He  is  a  communicant  of  the 
Episcopal  church  and  is,  at  present  writing,  one 
of  the  vestrymen  of  Bethesda  parish,  Saratoga 
Springs. 

Such  are  Saratoga's  Circuit  Judges.  Well  may 
her  bar  be  proud  of  their  honored  record  and  point 
to  Walworth,  Co  wen,  Willard  and  Bockes  as 
judges  ''''  semper  'paratus^  semper  jidelis''' — "ever 
ready"  to  do  their  whole  duty,  and  "ever  faithful" 
to  the  important  trusts  confided  to  their  hands. 
May  their  example  be  emulated  and  their  virtues 
copied  by  those  who  are  yet  to  sit  on  the  bench 
they  have  dignified  with  their  presence  and  labors. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  FIRST  JUDGES  CF  COMMON  PLEAS. 

First  Judge  John  Thompson  was  born  in  Litch- 
field, Conn.,  March  20,  1749.  But  little  of  his  early 
history  is  known  to  the  present  generation,  beyond 
the  fact  that  he  was  descended  from  the  Scotch- Irish 
colony,  which  settled  at  Londonderry,  N.  H.,  in 
the  seventeenth  century,  and  was  one  of  the  Litch- 
field colony  which  emigrated  to  this  state  in  1763, 
and  settled  in  the  town  of  Stillwater.  The  farm  on 
which  Thompson's  father  settled  was  at  the  foot  of 
Potash  Hill  about  a  mile  and  a  half  southwest  of 
Stillwater  village,  being  that  now  owned  by  Robert 
K.  Landon.  The  Litchfield  colony  was  a  Congre- 
gational society  or  church  in  that  town  which  was 
formed  in  1752.  In  the  year  1763,  under  the  lead 
of  their  pastor,  Rev.  Robert  Campbell,  they  resolved 
to  emigrate  in  a  body  to  the  terra  incognita  of  the 
Saratoga  |patent,  on  which  they  settled  under  the 
patronage  of  Gen.  Philip  Schuyler.  The  colony 
embraced  beside  the  Thompson  family,  among 
others  the  Seymours,  Fellows,  Palmers,  Ensigns 
and  Burlingames,  whose  descendants  yet  live  in 
Stillwater.  They  founded  the  religious  society  in 
that  town  which  from  its  ancient  edifice  acquired 
the  name  of  the  " "Yellow  Meeting  House,"   and 


280  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

which  is  now  the  oldest  religious  society  in  the 
county.  This  colony  was  eight  years  anterior  to 
that  led  by  Rev.  Eliphalet  Ball,  under  similar  cir- 
cumstances, to  Ballston  Center.  Mr.  Thompson 
was  married  at  an  early  age,  and  was  an  ardent 
patriot  during  the  Revolution,  enjoying  the  esteem 
and  friendship  of  Gen.  Schuyler.  He  was  ap- 
pointed one  of  the  first  justices  of  the  town  of  Still- 
wat^»r,  on  its  erection  March  7,  1788.  He  was  not 
bred  to  the  law,  but  pursued  an  agricultural  life  on 
the  acres  he  inherited  from  his  father.  On  the 
erection  of  the  county  of  Saratoga  in  1791,  he  was 
appointed  to  the  responsible  office  of  Fhst  Judge 
by  Gov.  Clinton,  on  the  recommendation  of  Gen. 
Schuyler.  His  commission  dates  from  February 
17,  the  day  the  bill  was  passed  by  the  legislature 
and  promptly  approved  by  the  governor.  While 
he  sat  on  the  bench  he  made  a  fearless  and  upright 
judge,  the  minutes  of  the  clerk  bearing  impress 
frequently  of  his  quick  and  apt  rulings,  showing 
that  though  not  learned  as  a  clerk  in  the  law  he 
was  a  deep  student  of  the  practice  and  theories  of 
the  courts.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
national  house  of  representatives  in  1798, and  served 
in  the  three  pessions  of  tlie  fifth  congress,  under  the 
administration  of  the  elder  Adams,  in  which  he 
strenuously  opposed  the  Alien  and  Seditio  i  laws. 
It  1801,  he  was  elected  and  served  as  a  member  of 
the  convention  called  to  revise  the  state  constitu- 
tion. He  was  again  elected  to  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives in  1806  and  re-elected  in  1808,  serving  in 


OF  SARATOGA  OOtmTT.  281 

the  tentli  and  eleventh  congresses  during  the  last  two 
years  of  President  Jefferson's,  and  the  first  two 
years  of  Presiden  Madison' s  administration.  Dur- 
ing this  period,  on  March  20,  1819,  he  reached  the 
constitutional  period:  viz.,  sixty  , years,  when  he 
was  called  on  to  lay  aside  his  judicial  robes,  and 
Hon.  Salmon  Child  was  appointed  to  succeed 
him.  On  the  3d  of  March,  1812,  his  last  term  in 
congress  expired,  and  he  returned  to  private  life  at 
his  home  in  Stillwater.  During  his  latter  years  he 
was  afflicted  with  palsy,  which  finally  terminated 
his  earthly  existence  in  November,  1823,  in  the 
seventy- fifth  year  of  his  age.  One  of  his  sons  was 
the  late  Judge  Thompson  of  Milton,  the  other  Dr. 
Nathan  Thompson  of  Galway.  One  of  his  daugh- 
ters married  Dr.  Aaron  Gregory  of  Milton,  and  the 
second.  Dr.  Isaac  Sears  of  Stillwater. 

First  Judge  Salmon  Child  was,  also,  a  native  of 
Connecticut,  in  which  colony  he  was  born  in  the 
year  1762.  His  father  was  a  captain  in  the  Con- 
necticut line  and  Salmon  joined  Washington's 
army  in  the  spring  of  1781,  and  participated  in  the 
march  to  Virginia,  and  in  the  final  triumph  at 
Yorktown.  In^l832,  he  became  entitled  to  a  pen- 
sion by  the  act  of  congress,  hitherto  referred  to  in 
these  pages.  "Perhaps  no'  non  professional  'man 
ever  received  a  greater  proportion  of  offices'in^this 
county.  He  was  a  plain  farmer,  a  sound  common 
sense  man,  and  ever  sustained  an  irreproachable 
moral  and^religious''character,^the  great  weight  of 
which  brought  him  into  public  life.     With  his 


282  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

father  he  was  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Green- 
field soon  after  the  Revolution,  locating  in  the  south 
part  of  the  town.  He  was  appointed  one  of  the 
first  justi  tes  of  the  peace  in  the  town  of  Greenfield. 
He  was  twice  elected  to  the  state  assembly  and  sat 
in  the  legislatures  of  1B()8  and  1809.  In  March,  1809, 
on  the  retirement  of  Judge  John  Thompson,  he 
was  appointed  to  the  responsible  office  of  first  judge 
5y  Gov.  Daniel  D.  Tompkins.  He  held  this  ofiice 
until  June  16,  1818,  when  the  term  of  office  of  each 
judge  of  the  Common  Pleas  in  this  state  was 
declared  to  be  at  an  end  by  an  act  of  the  legisla- 
ture of  that  year.  Not  having  been  educated  by 
previous  study  or  habits  to  fit  him  for  a  high  judi- 
cial position,  he  had  felt  for  some  years  his  anoma- 
lous position  before  the  bar,  and  desired  to  retire 
from  the  bench.  He  was  admirably  fitted  for  a 
judge  in  equity,  but  on  the  law  side  of  the  courts 
he  appreciated  the  want  of  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  its  intricacies.  Therefore,  when  Governor  De 
Witt  Clinton  reorganized  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  for  this  county  in  June,  1818,  he  gladly  relin- 
quished his  seat  on  the  bench  to  Hon.  James 
Thompson,  as  one  fitted  by  education  and  training 
to  administer  the  law.  He  accepted  the  office  of 
Judge  of  Common  Pleas  on  the  same  bench  for  the 
term  of  five  years.  In  1821,  he  was  a  member  of 
the  constitutional  convention,  and  "in  1828  was 
chosen  a  member  of  the  electoral  college^  and  cast 
his  vote  for  John  Quincy  Adams.  This  was  his 
last  public  office.     He  was  also  supervisor  of  Green- 


OF  SABATOGA  COUNTY.  283 

field  in  1804-5-6-7.  He  was  a  prominent  member 
of  the  Milton  Baptist  churcli,  (Stone  church)  and 
had  much  to  do  in  the  formation  and  maintenance 
of  that  society,  in  the  then  new  settlement  wliere  he 
resided.  He  was  one  of  the  six  or  eight  men  in 
Greenfield  who  formed  one  of  the  first  temperance 
societies  in  this  county,  in  1809.  "He  was,"  says 
Rev.  Thomas  Powell,  his  former  pastor,  "one  of 
the  most  conscientious  and  consistent  christians  I 
ever  knew."  About  twenty  years  previous  to  his 
death  he  removed  with  his  family  to  the  west,  and 
died  January  28,  1856,  in  the  ninety-fifth  year  of 
his  age,  at  his  residence  in  Walworth  county,  Wis- 
consin. He  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  that 
county  and  was  instrumental  in  having  it  named  in 
honor  of  his  old  friend.  Chancellor  Walworth. 

First  Judge  James  Thompson  was  the  sou  of 
Hon.  John  Thompson  of  Stillwater,  the  first  incum- 
bent of  that  office.  He  was  born  in  that  town,  No- 
vember 20,  1775,  and  was  nurtured  among  the  stir- 
ring tifties  in  that  region  which  preceded  and  fol- 
lowed Burgoyne's  invasion.  He  was  educated  at 
at  the  academy  in  Schenectady  which  was  the  germ 
of  Union  college.  He  was  a  member  of  the  same 
class  with  Rev.  Joseph  Sweetman  James  Scott, 
Levi  H.  Palmer  and  George  Palmer.  (Mr.  Sweet- 
man  remained  another  year  and  was  a  member  of 
the  first  senior  class  of  .old  Union,  graduating  in 
July,  1797.)  Mr.  Thompson,  at  the  wish  of  his 
father,  embraced  the  study  of  law  and  entered  the 
office  of  James  Emott,  son-in-law  of  Judge  Beriah 


284  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

Palmer,  who  had  established  a  residence  and  office 
at  the  latter' s  home  near  Burnt  Hills.  (After  the 
death  of  Judge  Palmer,  Mr.  Emott  returned  to  his 
former  home  in  Poughkeepsie,  from  whence  he  was 
chosen  to  the  assembly  in  1813,  and  was  elected 
speaker.  In  1818,  he  was  appointed  first  judge  of 
Dutchess  county,  and  appointed  circuit  judge  in 
1821.)  Among  the  fellow  students  of  Mr.  Thomp- 
son in  Judge  Emott' s  office  were  Daniel  L.  Yan 
Antwerp,  Samuel  Cook  and  Samuel  Young.  They 
were  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Common  Pleas  in  1799. 
Mr.  Thompson  soon  after  married  the  daughter  of 
Abel  Whalen  of  Milton,  and  purchased  what  was 
known  as  the  Sprague  farm  in  Milton,  now,  how- 
ever, recognized  as  the  "Judge  Thompson  place." 
Here  he  opened  an  office  and  soon  entered  upon  a 
lucrative  practice.  At  this  day  it  would  seem  the 
height  of  folly  for  a  lawyer  to  open  an  office  in  the 
country,  but  at  that  tim  e  steam  traveling  and  busi- 
ness centers  were  unknown  and  clients  sought  coun- 
sel where  good  advice  could  be  given  in  settling  the 
vexed  land  title  questions,  that  in  those  early  days 
perplexed  courts,  counsel  and  juries  to  unravel. 
That  his  advice  was  satisfactory  to  his  clientage  is 
shown  by  the  frequency  in  which  his  name  appears 
in  the  minutes  prior  to  1818.  On  June  16,  of  that 
year,  he  was  appointed  first  judge  of  Common  Pleas 
for  the  term  of  five  years  and  was  reappointed  for 
two  successive  teims.  His  career  as  a  judge  was 
marked  by  vigor  and  force,  though  he  was  not  a 
favorite  of  the  bar  generally.     His  roughest  nature 


or  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  285 

was  outermost,  and  it  was  only  in  the  closer  inti- 
macy of  friendship  that  he  could  be  clearly  known 
and  his  worth  appreciated.  In  person  and  manners 
he  was  dignified,  and  bore  a  striking  resemblance 
to  the  late  Eliphalet  Nott,  president  of  Union  col- 
lege. Prof.  Tayler  Lewis  esteems  him  as  the 
"father  of  the  Saratoga  county  bar,"  which  in  a 
measure  h*-"  was.  He  certainly  conferred  high  honor 
upon  it.  He  was  chosen  regent  of  the  University, 
February  7,  1822,  and  held  the  position  until  his 
death.  The  late  George  Thompson,  John  W. 
Thompson  and  James  Thompson  of  Ballston  Spa, 
and  Edward  D.  Thompson  of  Lawrence,  Kansas, 
were  his  sons.  He  died  December  19,  1845.  The 
Circuit  Court  was  then  in  session,  and  the  following 
entry  is  found  in  the  minutes  of  the  court  as  of 
December  20 : 

"The  decease  of  Judge  Thompson  which  took  place  al  his  resi- 
dence in  Miltwn  on  the  19th  inst.  was  announced  by  E.  F.  Builard, 
esq.,  wh©  after  an  elaquent  and  impressive  tribute  to  the  memory 
of  the  deceased  introduced  the  following  resolutions;  which  were 
ado|  ted  and  ordered  to  be  entered  on  the  minutes  of  the  court : 

Resolved,  Tliat  we  have  learned  vvitli  the  deepest  feelings  of  sor- 
row and  melancholy  the  decease  of  Hon.  James  Thoiijpsou  who 
presided  in  this  court  for  fifteen  years  with  eminent  ability  and  lo 
tlie  general  satisfaction  of  the  community.  In  this  dispensation  of 
Providence  the  profesi-ion  has  been  deprived  of  the  counsel  of 
their  late  Hssociale  and  the  county  has  lost  one  of  its  mosi  talented 
useful,  worthy  and  distinguished  citizens. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  to  the  family  and  friends  of  the 
deceased  the  expression  of  our  sympathy  and  condolence  upon 
this  afflicting  bereavement  by  which  Providen.ce  has  removed  him 
from  the  domestic  circle  adorned  by  his  private  virtues,  and  trom 
his  hi^h  position  which  he  occupied  among  our  citizens  as  one  of 


286  THE  BENCH  AMD  BAR 

the  regents  of  the  University,  a  uniform  and  devoted  friend  of  the 
cause  ©f  science  and  education,  and  one  who  in  the  decline  of  life 
commanded  the  same  confidence  and  respect  which  he  had  secured 
in  his  earlier  years  by  the  ability  that  distinguished  his  professional 
career. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  by  the  court  to  commu- 
nicate a  copy  of  these  resolutions  to  the  family  of  the  deceased, 
and  that  the  same  be  published  in  the  county  papers." 

The  court  thereupon  announced  as  such  commit- 
tee Messrs.  BuUard,  Scott  and  T.  G.  Young. 

"On  motion  of  John  K.  Porter,  Esq.;  Resolved,  Th&X.  the  members 
of  the  bench  and  bar  assume  for  thirty  days  the  usual  badge  of 
mourning,  and  that  as  an  expression  of  respect  for  the  memory  of 
Judge  Thompson  the  court  do  now  adjourn.    Adjourned." 

First  Judge  Samuel  Young,  who  was  appointed 
by  Gov.  Marcy  to  succeed  Judge  Thompson  on  the 
bench,  April  30,  1833,  was  the  son  of  Thomas 
Young,  a  Berkshire  county  (Mass.)  j^eoman,  and 
was  born  in  the  town  of  Lenox  in  December,  1779. 
His  father  removed  to  Clifton  Park  in  this  county 
about  the  year  1785,  and  took  a  tract  of  laud  on  the 
Appel  patent,  about  midway  from  Burnt  Hills  to 
Groom's  corners.  Here  he  grew  to  manhood,  a 
farmer's  son.  Schools  were  scarce  and  his  oppor- 
tunities for  attending  them  were  more  so.  Yet  he 
felt  within  himself  the  talent  and  power  of  mind 
which  aspired  to  higher  things.  His  son,  the  late 
Thomas  G.  Young,  Esq.,  of  Saratoga  Springs,  in- 
formed me  that  he  had  heard  his  father  tell  of  lying 
before  the  fireplace  after  a  hard  day' s  work  in  the 
field  or  woods  and  studying  by  the  light  of  a  pine 
knot  long  after  the  rest  of  the  family  were  asleep. 


OF  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  287 

He  was  essentially  a  self-made  man,  and  by  the 
rigorous  course  of  study 'which  he  began  in  youth 
and  never  grew  old  enough  to  lay  aside,  he  be- 
came possessed  of  a  classical,  scientific  and  general 
education  such  as  few  collegians  aspire  to.  His 
state  papers  as  a  member  of  the  Court  of  Errors  and 
as  superintendent  of  common  schools  have  all  the 
polish  and  elegance  of  language  that  would  char- 
acterize the  most  devoted  student  that  ever  bore  oflf 
the  honors  of  his  Alma  Mater.  A  legal  friend 
informs  me  that  in  1845,  he  was  commissioned  by 
Col.  Young  to  purchase  for  him  some  books  at  an 
auction  trade  sale  in  New  York.  Every  work  that 
he  selected  was  of  a  classical  or  scientific  nature. 
Conceiving  an  attachment  for  the  science  of  the  law, 
he  entered  the  ofiice  jf  Judge  Emott  and  completed 
the  full  course  required  by  the  rules,  and  com- 
menced the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  soon 
after  married  Mary  Gibson,  the  daughter  of  Hon. 
John  Gibson  of  Ballston  Center,  and  purchased  the 
farm  of  Seth  C.  Baldwin  at  Academy  Hill  in  that 
town,  where  he  e  stablished  his  office  and  had  a 
residence  until  his  death.  He  was  early  called 
into  public  life,  and  no  citizen  of  Saratoga  county 
has  ever'been  more  highly  honored  in  that  capacity 
than  he.  He  was  supervisor  of  Ballston  in  the 
years  1809-10-12-13;  elected  to  the  assembly  in 
1814,  re-elected  in  1815  and  again  in  1826  ;  senator 
in  1818  for  four  years,  re-elected  in  1835  and  1838. 
Eesiguing  in  1840,  he  was  again  chosen  in  1845,  and 
served  until  the  old  senate  was  set  aside,  in  1847,  by 


288  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR. 

the  new  constitution.  He  was  speaker  of  the  assem- 
blies of  1815  and  1826.  The  latter  year,  Hon.  John 
W.  Taylor  was  speaker  of  the  national  house  of 
representatives.  Both  were  residents  of  the  town 
of  Ballston.  It  was  a  singular  coincidence.  By 
the  act  passed  April  17,  1816,  with  Stephen  Van 
Eensselaer,  DeWitt  Clinton  and  Myron  Holley,  he 
was  appointed  a  commissioner  to  construct  a  canal 
from  the  Hudson  river  to  Lake  Erie.  Other  gen- 
tlemen were  subsequently  added  to  this  com- 
mission. The  result  of  their  labors  is  that  noble 
artery  of  commerce,  the  Erie  cnnal. 

Col.  Young  held  the  office  of  canal  commissioner 
until  1840,  when  he  was  removed  by  a  whig  legisla- 
ture and  the  influence  of  Thurlow  Weed.  In  1821, 
he  was  chosen  with  Judge  Child,  John  Cramer  and 
Jeremy  Rockwell  to  represent  Saratoga  county  in 
the  constitutional  convention.  In  1824,  he  was  the 
democratic  legislative  caucus  candidate  for  governor 
to  succeed  Joseph  C.  Yates  against  DeWitt  Clin- 
ton. He  was  defeated  by  a  vote  of  87,093  to  103,- 
452  ;  all  the  opposition  elements  uniting  on  Clinton. 
His  mind  was  not  fitted  to  deal  with  the  trilling 
causes  brought  before  him  in  Common  Pleas  for 
adjudication,  and  he  retired  from  the  bench  at  the 
end  of  his  term.  February  7,  1842  he  was  chosen 
secretary  of  state  by  the  joint  ballot  of  both  houses 
of  the  legislature  to  succeed  Hon.  John  C.  Spencer. 
He  became  ex  officio  superintendent  of  common 
schools.  Under  his  administration  much  was  done 
to  foster  and  build  up  our  common  school  system. 


OF  SARATOGA  COITITTT.  289 

He  was  an  ardent  advocate  of  free  schools.  His 
decisions  as  superintendent  are  incorporated  in  the 
"Digest"  published  with^the  "  Code  of  Public 
Instruction,"  and  are  yet  quoted  as  ruling  on  the 
points  discussed.  He  was  elected  one  of  the  Regents 
of  the  University  in  1817  and  held  the  position 
until  1835,  when  he  resigned.  He  always  retained 
a  lively  interest  in  agriculture,  and  on  the  conclu- 
sion of  his  term  in  the  state  senate  in  1847,  he 
retired  to  his  farm  .in  Ballston.  He  died  suddenly 
November  3,  1850,  in  the  seventy-hrst  year  of  his 
age.  He  was  in  usual  health  up  to  the  day  of  his 
death.  He  was  about  his  business  as  usual  and 
retired  to  rest.  The  next  morning  he  was  found  in 
his  bed  asleep  in  death.  Subsequent  to  the  death 
of  his  first  wife  he  married  Mrs.  Sarah  Lasher  of 
New  Hurly,  Ulster  county,  in  1827.  She  survived 
him  several  years.  Thus  closes  the  history  of  an 
active  and  honorable  life  He  acquired  his  soubri- 
quet of  "  Colonel"  as  a  member  of  Governor  Tomp- 
kins' staff  in  1816.  Although  a  man  of  peace,  it 
adhered  to  him  through  life,  and  he  will  be  remem- 
bered as  the  genial  colonel,  rather  than  as  the  sedate 
judge.* 

First  Judge  Thomas  J.  Marvin  was  the  son  of 
William  Marvin,  a  merchant  and  hotel  keeper  at 
East  Line  in  the  town  of  Malta,  where  he  was  born 


*0n  the  fourth  (>f  July,  1826,  the  seini-ceutennial  of  American 
independence,  Col.  Young,  being  then  speaker  of  the  state  assem- 
bly, presided  at  the  celebration  at  Ballston  Spa.  Hon.  John  W. 
Taylor,  then  speaker  of  the  house  of  representatives,  was  the  orator 
of  the  occasion. 

18 


290  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

in  June,  1803.  His  grandfatlier,  Dennis  Marvin, 
was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  the  town,  a  few  years 
prior  to  the  Revolution.  He  was  educated  at  the 
old  Ballston  Academy  and  at  Union  college,  grad- 
uating in  the  class  of  1826 ;  and  studied  law  with 
Williajn  L.  F.  Warren,  at  Saratoga  Springs,  and 
was  aduiitted  to  the  bar  of  Common  Pleas  in  August, 
1829,  In  due  time  he  was  admitted  first  as  an 
attorney  and  then  as  a  counselor  in  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  Solicitor  in  Chancery.  In  1836,  he  Avas 
appointed  by  Grov.  Marcy  to  be  a  judge  of  Common 
Pleas,  and  two  years  later  he  was  promoted  to  the 
presiding  j udge' s  seat,  his  commission  dating  from 
February  13  ;  and  held  the  office  until  1847,  when 
it  was  abolished  by  the  adoption  of  the  new  con- 
stitution. Judge  Marvin  was  a  man  of  quick  per- 
ceptions and  was  deeply  read  in  the  law.  He  was 
quick  to  see  a  point  and  to  act  upon  it.  When  he 
saw  that  the  strict  construction  of  the  law  led  to  a 
certain  end,  though  it  might  clash  with  the  public 
demands  or  his  own  private  wishes,  he  fearlessly 
did  his  duty.  We  have  seen  an  instance  in  this  in 
the  manner  in  which  he  disposed  of  the  second 
indictment  against  the  notorious  Isaiah  Rynders.* 
He  was  a  joint  proprietor  in  the  United  States 
hotel,  Saratoga  Springs  from  1832,  an;L  in  1842  he 
entered  into  a  partnership  with  his  brother,   Hon. 


:  *Jn;.iice  LhikIoii  rfceutlj'  made  a  similar  ruling  in  the  case  of 
C.  Fred.  ISmitli,  indicted  lor  arson  al  Jolinslown.  He  had  been 
tried  and  acquitted  on  the  charge  of  murdering  Edward  Yost,  and 
the  arson  charge  WHS  based  on  the  same  statemeilts  of  evidence 
aud  fuels. 


OP  SARATOGA  OOUIfTT.  ^       291 

James  M.  Marvin  in  the  management  of  that  house, 
which  continued  until  his  death  December  29,  1852, 
in  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  age.  He  was  supervisor 
of  Saratoga  Springs  in  1851-2. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

SARATOGA  COUNTY  JUDGES. 

Augustus  Bockes,  1847  to  1854.  (See  sketch  of 
his  life  in  Chapter  xvii ;  Saratoga' s  Circuit  Judges. ) 

John  A.  Corey,  1854.  Judge  Corey  was  the  son 
of  DanielCorey,  a  farmer  living  inGreenwich,  Wash- 
ington county,  and  was  born  November  5,  1805. 
He  was  a  brother  of  Allen  Corey,  o:  the  West  Troy 
Democrat^  and  a  cousin  of  Rev.  Drs.  Sidney  G. 
and  Daniel  Corey,  well  known  Baptist  divines.  He 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools.  He  was  a 
strong  admirer  of  the  terse  old  Anglo-Saxon  speech, 
disdaining  to  use  the  hybrid  Anglo-French  words 
that  are  so  rapidly  creeping  into  our  vocabulary  ; 
he  believed  in  calling  a  spade  by  its  homely  Saxon 
name,  rather  than  an  "agricultural  instrument  for 
delving  the  soil  and  allowing  the  atmosphere  to 
permeate  into  the  alluvial  deposits."  While  on  the 
bench  nothing  would  cause  him  to  betray  a  sign  of 
impatience  in  listening  to  an  advocate's  argument 
sooner  than  a  Latin  quotation  interlarded  into  the 
language  in  which  in  which  it  was  couched.  In 
his  early  manhood  he  adopted  the  profession  of 
teaching.  In  1824,  he  came  to  Saratoga  Springs 
and  established  a  residence  in  this  county.  He 
secured  a  situation  in  the  office  of  the  Saratoga 


OP  SARATOGA  OOFNTT.  293 

Sentinel,  tlien  published  by  the  late  G.  M.  Davis- 
on. While  ill  that  office  he  learned  the  "art  pre- 
servative," and  also  used  his  pen  freely  in  articles 
that  made  their  mark  at  that  time.  He  turned  his 
attention  to  the  study  of  law,  and  was  successively 
a  clerk  in  the  offices  of  Judge  Cowen,  Judiah  Ells- 
worth and  Nicholas  Hill,  jr.  He  was  admitted  as 
an  attorney  in  the  Supreme  Court  in  January,  1835, 
and  was  advanced  to  the  degree  of  counselor  in 
January,  1838 ;  and  was  appointed  examiner  in 
Chancery  in  1836.  He  commenced  the  publication 
of  the  Saratoga  Republican  in  1844,  and  continued 
it  until  1853,  when  he  sold  the  paper  to  Thomas  G. 
Young,  wlio  afterwards  merged  it  in  the  Sentinel. 
He  continued,  however,  to  be  a  contributor  to  the 
press  until  his  last  illness.  He  was  elected  super- 
visor of  Saratoga  Springs  in  1849.  The  next  year 
he  was  chosen  clerk  of  the  board  of  supervisors, 
and  held  the  same  position  under  the  boards  of 
1852  and  1864-5  6-7.  He  was  also  for  several  years 
a  justice  of  the  peace  of  his  town.  On  the  resigna- 
tion of  Judge  Bockes  he  was  appointed  to  the  posi- 
tion of  county  judge  by  Governor  Seymour,  Feb- 
ruary 6,  1854,  to  fill  the  unexpired  term.  During 
that  year  occurred  the  "Carson  League"  prosecu- 
tion of  illegal  liquor  sellers,  and  he  fearle-ssly  pro 
nounced  sentence  upon  all  who  were  convicted  in 
his  court  by  imposing  the  full  penalty  of  the  law. 
This  was  used  against  him  in  the  ensuing  autumn 
when  he  was  the  democratic  candidate  for  re-elec- 
tion, and  he  was  defeated  mainly  through  the  liquor 


294  THE  BEITCH  AlO)  BAR 

d-ealers  putting  Gideon  Putnam  in  the  field  against 
liim  as  a  third  candidate.  In  1855,  he  was  tendered 
by  President  Pierce,  through  Secretary  Marcy,  the 
office  of  governor  of  Kansas  territory,  but  declined 
the  troublesome  and  dubious  honor.  Soon  after 
this  he  was  appointed  United  States  Commissioner 
by  Judge  Nathan  K.  Hall,  and  retained  the  office 
until  his  death.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
•  Saratoga  County  Agricultural  Society,  and  was  for 
a  long  series  of  years  its  secretary.  While  in  this 
position  he  heard  of  many  cases  of  sheep  killing  by 
vagrant  dogs,  and  set  to  work  to  abate  the  nuisance. 
Through  his  efforts  a  law  was  enacted  imposing  a 
tax  on  dogs,  and  making  it  a  valid  defense  in 
actions  brought  to  recover  damages  for  killing  a 
canine  to  allege  and  prove  that  a  tax  had  not  been 
assessed  and  paid  on  the  animal  within  the  previous 
year.  He  died,  after  a  lingering  illness,  April  29, 
1873,  in  the  seventieth  year  of  his  age.  He  married 
quite  early  in  life  a  daughter  of  George  Strover, 
Esq.,  of  Schuylerville,  who  survives  him.  He  left 
one  son  and  three  daughters. 

James  B.  McKean,  1855-1859.  Judge  McKean 
is  the  eldest  son  of  the  late  Rev.  Andrew  McKean 
of  Halfmoon,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Methodism  in 
north-eastern  New  York.  He  was  born  in  the  town 
of  Hoosick,  Renssela->r  county,  in  August,  1821, 
his  father  being  at  the  time  a  circuit  preacher.  The 
home  of  Father  McKean,  as  he  was  familiarly 
known,  at  that  time  was  situated  near  the  line  of 
Vermont,  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  celebrated 


OF  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  295 

Mather's  house,  which  by  a  conceit  of  its  owner 
was  so  built  that  it  stood  in  the  states  of  New  York, 
Vermont  and  Massachusetts.  The  family  of  Rev. 
Andrew  McKean  was  an  ancient  Pennsylvania  one, 
one  of  its  members  being  Thomas  McKean,  a  signer 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  who  was  his 
father's  uncle.  When  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  about  seven  years  of  age,  his  father  took  super- 
annuate I'elations  from  the  church  to  wliich  his 
early  manhood  and  prime  had  been  devoted  in  long 
years  of  wearying  and  self-sacrificing  itinerancy, 
and  retired  to  a  farm  in  Halfmoon,  which  he  liad 
purchased.  It  was  situated  about  two  miles  south- 
east of  Round  Lake.  Here  Judge  McKean' s  early 
life  was  spent.^  He  received  the  rudiments  of  an 
education  in  the  neighboring  district  school,  and 
completed  an  academic  course  at  Jonesville  under 
the  direction  and  instruction  of  Prof.  Hiram  A. 
Wilson,  now  of  Saratoga  Springs.  After  complet- 
ing his  studies,  he  taught  several  terms  in  the  Jones- . 
ville  acidemy  as  an  assistant  to  Prof.  Wilson. 
After  this  he  opened  a  select  school  at  Clifton  Park 
village,  which  he  was  soon  forced  to  relinquish  on 
account  of  failing  health.  Several  months  later  he 
entered  -the  office  of  Gen.  Bullard  at  Waterford,  as 
a  law  clerk.  District  Attorney  Ormsby  was  pursu- 
ing his  studies  in  the  same  office  at  the  time.  After 
completing  his  course  of  study  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  of  the  state  courts  in  1847.  Soon  after  he 
removed  to  Ballston  Spa  and  formed  a  law  part- 
nerghip  with  Abel  Meeker.     In  1863,  he  was  an 


296  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

unsuccessful  condidate  for  district  attorney.  His 
opponent  was  William  T.  Odell.  Having  in  the 
meantime  married  Miss  Catherine  Hay,  daughter 
of  Judge  William  Hay  of  Saratoga  Springs,  he  soon 
after  removed  his  residence  and  of&ce  to  the  latter 
place.  In  1854,  he  was  nominated  for  county 
judge  by  the  American  party  ;  his  opponents  were 
Judge  Corey,  democrat,  and  Gideon  Putnam,  whig. 
In  this  triangular  contest  he  was  the  successf  al  party 
and  took  his  seat  on  the  bench  in  January  follow- 
ing. In  1855,  he  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Republican  party,  claiming  that  it  represented  the 
true  principles  of  Jeffersonian  democracy  in  which 
his  father  had  reared  him.  In  the  campaign  of 
1856  his  voice  was  frequently  heard  on  the  rostrum 
declaiming  for  "  free  soil,  free  speech,  free  press 
and  Fremont."  In  1858,  he  was  nominated  by 
his  party  for  congress,,  was  triumphantly  elected 
and  was  one  of  the  staunch  supporters  of  the  Union 
in  the  secession  times.  In  the  latter  daj^s  of 
Buchanan's  administration  he  was  one  of  that 
devoted  band  of  minute  men  who  guarded  the 
Capitol  against  anticipated  seizure  by  traitor  hands. 
Having  been  re-elected  to  congress  he  left  his  seat 
in  the  extra  session  called  by  President  Lincoln, 
and  came  north  and  issued  a  stirring  address  to  the 
sons  of  this  county  to  join  him  in  forming  a  "  Bemis 
Heights  battalion."  The  result  was  the  forming  of 
the  now  historic  Seventy-seventh  regiment,  of  which 
he  was  chosen  colonel.  Under  his  command  and 
that  of  his  brave  successor,    Colonel  Winsor  B. 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  297 

Frencli,  it  gained  an  honorable  record  at  Williams- 
burgh  and  in  the  seven  days  battles  on  the  Chick- 
ahominy,  and  in  following  the  fortunes  of  the 
"Sixth  Corps'  cross"  on  many  well  fought  fields. 
While  on  the  peninsula  the  weak  constitution  of 
Col.  McKean  yielded  to  a  malarial  fever,  and  he 
was  forced  to  leave  his  regiment.  Having  partially 
recruited  his  health,  h'e  again  took  his  seat  in  con- 
gress and  did  good  service  there  in  upholding  the 
hands  of  his  former  comrades  in  the  front,  whom  he 
was  forbidden  to  rejoin  by  his  physicians.  At  the 
close  of  his  congressional  career,  he  returned  to 
Saratoga  Springs  and  resumed  the  practice  of  his 
profession.  Soon  after  President  Grant's  accession 
to  office  he  tendered  to  Judge  McKean  the  office 
of  Chief  Justice  of  Utah.  He  accepted  the  place 
with  all  its  grave  and  complicated  duties,  and  his- 
tory will  say  that  he  was  the  first  Federal  officer  in 
Utah  who  comprehended  the  deep  laid  designs  of 
Brigham  Young.  By  his  fearlessness  in  adminis- 
tering justice  under  the  laws  he  soon  incurred  the 
hatred  of  the  Mormons  and  gained  the  good  will  of 
the  other  citizens  of  Utah.  In  1875,  Mormon  intiu- 
ence  prevailed  upon  the  President  to  remove  him 
from  office.  He  at  once  applied  for  and  was  adfiiit 
ted  to  practice  at  the  territorial  bar,  and  has  fixed 
his  permanent  home  at  Salt  Lake  city.  The  brac- 
ing air  of  the  interior  having  restored  him  to  good 
health,  he  hesitates  to  return  to  his  native  state. 
Besides  in  his  civil  and  military  career,  Judge  Mc- 
Kean is  well  known  as  a  staunch  Methodist  and  is 


298  THE  BENCH  AND   BAB 

a  prominent  member  of  that  communion.  He  was 
a  lay  member  of  the  General  Conference  which  met 
at  Baltimore  in  May,  1876. 

John  W.  Crane,  1859-1863.     Judge  Crane  was 
born  at  West  Milton  in  this  county  September  30, 
1827,  and  is  the  son  of  Justus  Crane,  a  distiller 
who  was  employed  by  the  late  Robert  Spier.     His 
maternal  grandfather  was  William  Bridges,  one  of 
the  first  settlers  of  Ballston  Spa.     He  was  educated 
in  the  common  school  and  at  Smith  &  Bang's  and 
Prof.  Hancock's  academies  at  Saratoga  Springs. 
Having  an  inclination  towards  the  law  he  entered 
the  office  of  William  M.  Searing  as  a  clerk.     He 
completed  his  studies  in  the  office  of  William  A. 
Beach,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  Sep- 
tember General  Term,  1852.     Soon  after  he  entered 
into  the  law  partnership  with  William  L.  Avery 
and  Franklin  Hoag  at  Saratoga  Springs.     After  the 
retirement  of  Mr.  Avery  the  other  members  con- 
tinued the  partnership  successfully  until  the  elec- 
tion of  Mr.  Crane  to  the  office  of  county  judge  ;  to 
which  office  he  was  nominated  by  the  democrats  in 
1858.     His  opponents  were  Alembert  Pond,  repub- 
lican, and  Lemuel  B.  Pike,  American.     He   was 
elected  in  November  by  a  plurality  of  323  over  Mr. 
Pond,  and  a  clear  majority  of  43  over  both  oppo- 
nents.    He  retired  to  the  practice  of  his  profession 
on  the  conclusion  of  his  term  December  31,  1863, 
and  enjoys  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  best 
office  lawyers  and  most  careful  conveyancers  in  the 
county.     He  was  elected  supervisor  of  his  town  in 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  299 

1863,  and  again  in  1868  and  1869,  and  has  also  held 
various  other  posts  of  trust  in  his  town  and  village. 
He  made  a  good  record  on  the  bench. 

John  C.  Hulbert,  1863-1871.  Judge  Hulbert  was 
born  in  Pittsford,  Vermont,  February  12,  1817. 
His  father,  Luther  Hulbert.  removed  to  Malta  in 
this  county  when  his  son  was  quite  young,  and 
established  himself  as  a  merchant  at  Dunning 
Street.  He  was  a  man  held  in  high  respect  by  his 
townsmen  and  held  several  town  offices,  and  was 
appointed  at  one  time  a  Master  in  Chancery.  He 
educated  his  son  in  the  home  district  school  and  at 
an  academy  in  Saratoga  Springs.  During  this  time 
young  Hulbert  served  an  apj)renticeship  in  the 
old  Ballston  Spa  Gazette  office,  and  learned  iXiQ 
printer's  craft,  thus  making  him  the  second  repre- 
sentative of  the  "art  preservative"  on  our  county 
bench.  Determining  to  follow  the  profession  of  the 
law  as  a  life  vocation  he  studied  successively  in  the 
offices  of  Thomas  J.  Marvin,  Ni  'holas  Hill,  jr.  and 
William  A.  Beach,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of 
Common  Pleas  in  December,  1836,  and  about  three 
years  later  to  that  of  the  Supreme  Court.  He  early 
succeeded  in  gaining  a  substantial  clientage,  and, 
in  1847,  he  was  elected  surrogate  and  held  the  office 
until  1856,  performing  its  complicated  duties  with 
honor  and  success.  In  1862,  he  was  the  successful 
candidate  for  the  office  of  county  judge,  and  took 
his  seat  on  the  bench  in  January,  1863,  and  was 
chosen  for  two  successive  terms  and  made  an 
upright  and  careful  judge.     He  is  now  engaged  in 


300  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR. 

a  successful  prosecution  of  his  practice  at  the  bar. 

Charles  S.  Lester,  1871 .     Judge  Lester  was 

born  in  Worcester,  Massachusetts  in  March,  1825. 
His  father  died  in  his  infancy,  and  the  son  found  a 
home  in  the  family  of  his  maternal  uncle.  Judge 
John  Willard,  at  Salem,  Washington  county,  and 
was  educated  in  the  Salem  academy.  Having  been 
reared  in  a  legal  air,  his  mind  naturally  inclined 
towards  the  profession,  and  he  commenced  his 
studies  in  the  office  of  Crary  &  Fairchild  in  Salem, 
in  1842.  In  1843,  he  came  to  Saratoga  Springs  and 
entered  the  office  of  Judge  Willard  where  he  com- 
pleted the  requisite  course  for  an  admission  to  the 
bar  of  the  Supreme  Court,  to  which  he  was  admit 
ted  in  1846.  Soon  after,  he  formed  a  law  partner- 
ship with  William  Culien  Bockes  (brother  of  Judge 
Bockes)  which  continued  until  the  latter' s  death  a 
few  month's  later.  Next,  he  and  the  late  Frederick 
S.  Root  for  two  years  enjoyed  a  fair  practice 
together  in  our  courts.  After  this,  he  formed  a 
partnership  with  A.  L.  Bartlett  and  soon  after  his 
brother-in-law,  Alembert  Pond,  wasinvited  to  join 
the  firm.  In  1869,  he  was  elected  district  attorney 
by  the  democrats  by  251  majority  over  Joseph  A. 
Slioudy,  the  republican  and  American  candidate. 
He  served  in  this  position  three  years  and  made  a 
capable  and  fearless  public  prosecutor.  At  the 
outbreak  of  the  rebellion,  when  party  ties  were 
loosened,  he  joined  the  republican  party.  In  1870, 
he  was  their  candidate  for  county  judge  and  was 
elected  by  a  substantial  majority  over  P.  H.  Cowen, 


or  SARATOGA  COTTKTY.  301 

a  son  of  the  former  judge,  democrat.  On  the  bench 
he  ha;3  been  noted  for  his  urbanity  to  his  profes- 
sional brethren  and  the  thorough  manner  in  which 
he  compels  attorneys  to  place  their  cases  belore  the 
juries.  His  term  of  office  will  expire  next  Decem- 
ber. His  eldest  son  Charles  C.  Lester,  Esq.,  is  now 
associated  with  him  in  Supreme  Court  and  Court 
of  Appeals  practice.  Their  clientage  is  probably 
the  wealthiest  in  the  county,  the  firm  having  been 
for  several  years  past  the  local  legal  advisers  of 
the  late  A.T.  Stewart,  and  are  continued  in  the  same 
relations  by  Mrs. Stewart.  Judge  Lester  was  elected 
supervisor  of  Saratoga  in  1864  and  re-elected  in 
1865. 

The  history  of  the  Saratoga  county  judiciary 
requires  a  sketch  of  the  gentleman  who  alone 
is  the  survivor  of  the  forty-eight  citizens  who  have 
sat  upon  its  bench  as  judges  of  Common  Pleas ; 
viz.  Hon.  George  Gordon  Scott  of  Ballston  Spa. 
Judge  Scott  was  the  orly  child  of  James  Scott,  a 
famous  surveyor  of  the  olden  time,  and  was  born 
at  the  family  homestead  in  the  town  of  Ballston, 
near  the  Milton  line,  in  the  year  1811.  His  grand- 
father, George  Scott,  was  an  emigrant  from  the 
north  of  Ireland  who  settled  on  that  farm  in  1774. 
He  married  the  sister  of  Gen.  James  Gordon. 
During  the  Munro  tory  raid  in  1780,  he  narrowly 
escaped  death  at  the  hands  of  the  Indians,  being, 
in  fact,  struck  down  with  a  tomahawk  and  left  for 
dead.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  entered  Union 
college  and  graduated  in  1831,  with  one  of  the 
13* 


302  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

honors  of  his  class.  He  then  entered  the  law  office 
of  Palmer  &  Goodrich  in  Ballston  Spa,  where  he 
remained  two  years  ;  he  finished  his  studies  in  the 
office  of  Brown  &  Thompson  in  the  same  village, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  18B4  and  at  once 
entered  upon  what  has  proved  a  more  than  ordi- 
narily successful  practice.  Having  always  enjoyed 
the  confidence  of  the  people  as  a  man  of  st^^rling 
integrity  and  a  master  of  his  profession, his  counsel 
has  been  and  still  is  much  sought  in  causes  involv- 
ing intricate  questions.  It  is  rather  as  the  counse- 
lor than  as  the  advocate  that  he  has  secured  and 
retained  a  prominent  position  at  the  bar.  He  has 
never  sought  office,  and  the  positions  that  he  has 
held  have  (^ome  to  him  conferred  either  by  appoint- 
ment or  election  without  effort  on  his  part.  He 
married,  soon  after  his  admission  to  the  bar,  Lucy, 
daughter  of  Hon  Joel  Lee  of  Ballston  Spa,  Having 
established  his  home  in  the  Milton  portion  of  that 
village,  he  was  elected  justice  of  tee  peace  in  1837 
and  discharged  its  duties  till  1849.  In  1838  he  was 
appointed  judge  of  Common  Pleas  for  five  j^ears, but 
resigned  in  1841,  preferring  his  practice  to  the 
honor  of  the  bench.  He  was  elected  to  the  assem- 
blies of  1856  and  1857  '■>  serving  in  tiie  former  on 
the  Ways  and  Means  and  in  the  latter  on  the 
Judiciary  committees;  his  merits  being  thus  recog- 
nized by  speakers  Littlejohn  and  Robinson.  He 
was  tendered  the  si^eakership  of  the  house  of  1856, 
but  declined,  prefei-ring  to  serve  on  the  fioor.  In 
1861,  he  was  honored  by  his  party  with  the  uoini- 


OP  SARATOGA   GOUITTY.  303 

nation  on  the  state  ticket  for  the  oflBce  of  Comp- 
troller, lu  1857,  he  was  elected  by  the  democrats 
of  the  15th  district  to  the  state  senate  in  the  face  of 
an  adverse  party  majority,  and  served  on  the  com- 
mittee on  Claims,  Insurance,  Judiciary  and  Towns 
and  Counties.  In  1859,  he  removed  into  his  native 
town,  (his  residence  being  on  High  street  nearly 
opposite  the  county  clerk's  office)  and  the  next 
year  he  was  chosen  supervisor,  and  has  repeatedly 
been  re-elected  and  is  now  serving  his  seventeenth 
term,  an  honor  conferred  on  but  one  other  citizen 
of  the  county  :  viz,  Gen.  Mott  of  Halfmoon.  He 
was  chairman  of  the  board  in  1863,  and  has  repeat- 
edly been  appointed  attorne}'  of  the  board  to  con- 
fer with  the  state  assessors.  Possessed  of  an 
extensive  memory  in  which  is  stored  away  the  tales 
of  revolutionary  times  told  him  by  his  father  and 
other  old  residents,  he  h  is  long  been  regarded  as 
an  encyclopedia  of  local  historical  and  topograph 
ical  lore,  and  on  that  account  was  fitly  designated 
to  prepare  the  county  centennial  historical  address 
which  he  read  at  the  celebration  of  the  close  of  the 
first  hundred  years  of  our  nation,  at  the  Sans  Souci 
hotel,  July  4,  1876.  Judge  Scott  possesses  an  iron 
frame  and  belongs  to  a  long  lived  ancestry,  and  we 
may  cherish  the  hope  that  the  "last  link"  will 
remain  unbroken  for  many  years. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

DISTRICT  ATTORNEYS  AND  COUNTY  CLERKS. 

The  office  of  district  attorney  was  created  by  an 
act  of  the  legislature  of  1801.  Its  intent  was  to 
create  a  local  prosecuting  officer  who  should  fill 
the  place  of  the  attorney  general  in  the  Oyer  and 
Terminer  and  Sessions  of  the  country  counties.  In 
that  of  New  York  the  attorney  general  was  to  officiate 
personally.  Previously,  by  an  act  passed  Febru- 
ary 12,  1796,  the  state  had  been  divided  into  seven 
districts,  in  each  of  which  an  assistant  attorney 
general  was  appointed,  to  hold  office  during  the 
pleasure  of  the  governor  and  council.  Albany, 
Saratoga,  Schoharie  and  Schenectadj^  counties 
formed  the  fifth  district.  Abraham  Van  Vechten 
of  Albany  was  appointed  to  the  office  February  16, 
1796,  and  held  the  position  one  year,  when  he  was 
superseded  by  the  appointment  of  George  Metcalfe 
of  Stillwater.  Under  the  act  of  1801,  Montgomery 
county  was  added  to  the  fifth  district.  Mr.  Met- 
calfe was  appointed  district  attorney.  The  follow- 
ing is  the  succession  till  1818,  when  the  office  was 
limited  b}'-  act  of  legislature  to  each  county  :  Daniel 
L.  Van  Antwerp  of  Saratoga,  March  16,  1811  ;  Dan- 
iel Cady  of  Montgomery,  February  28, 1813  ;  Rich- 
ard M.  Livingston  of  Saratoga,  February  16,  1815. 


OF  SAHATOGA  OOFNTT.  305 

The  act  of  April  21,  1818,  decreed  that  an  oflacer 
^o  be  called  tlie  district  attorney  should  be  appoint- 
ed for  each  county  by  the  governor  and  senate,  to 
be  the  public  prosecutor  therein.  This  was  modi- 
fied by  the  constitution  of  1821,  which  gave  the 
appointing  power  to  the  Court  of  Sessions.  Accord- 
ingly, on  the  11th  of  June,  1818,  Richard  Mont- 
gomery Livington  was  appointed  the  first  district 
attorney  of  Saratoga  county.  He  was  the  son  of 
Col.  James  Livingston  of  Albany,  and  belonged  to 
the  noted  Columbia  county  family  ;  his  father  be- 
ing a  relative  of  the  wife  of  Gen.  Montgomery,  and 
was  an  officer  under  him  in  the  ill-fated  Quebec 
expedition,  in  which  the  gallant  Irish  patriot  lost 
his  life.  Entertaining  a  feeling  akin  to  reverence 
for  the  memory  of  his  brave  friend.  Col.  Livingston 
named  his  first-born  son  in  his  hpnor.  Mr.  Living- 
ston settled  at  Schuylerville  and  was  the  attorney 
and  agent  of  the  Schuyler  family.  He  was,  it  is 
said,  a  lawyer  of  ability.  One  fault  of  his  has  been 
handed  down  to  our  times  ;  it  was  that  which  some- 
times afiects  modern  officials,  neglecting  public 
dut}^  to  attend  to  private  business.  Two  instances 
are  on  record  where  he  failed  to  attend  the'termsof 
court,  and  a  special  district  attorney  had  to  be  ap- 
pointed :  viz.  the  terms  at  which  the  Northrup 
murder  indictment  and  that  against  jailor  Taylor 
were  disposed  of.  The  latter  jnstance  created  strong 
feeling  against  him  and,  in  1821,  a  chang*^  of  the 
political  tide  caused  his  removal. 

District  Attorney  William   La  Fayette  Warren 


306  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

was  born  in  Troy,  February  4,  1793.     He  was  of 
patriotic  ancestry  ;  his  father  was  Capt.  John  War- 
ren, an  aide  to  Gen.  La  Faj^ette,  ^'and  his  mother 
was  Elizabeth  Belknap,   daughter  of  Major  Isaac 
Belknap   of  Newburgh,  a  revolutionary  veteran. 
Having  been  carefully  prepared  by  a  full  academic 
course  at  Ballston,  the  future  judge  entered  Union 
college,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the  class 
of  1814.     He  began  the  study  of  law  in  the  office 
of  Esek  Co  wen  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the 
Supreme  Court  in  1817,  and  immediately  entered 
into  partnership  with  his  preceptor.     This  contin- 
ued until  the  appointment  of  Judge  Co  wen  to  be 
reporter  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  1824.     During 
this  close  and  confidential  intercourse  Judge  Cowen 
depended  much  upon  the  sound  judgment  of  his 
more  youthful  associate.     As  stated  in  the  body  of 
this    work   Mr.    Warren   was  appointed    district 
attorney  February  13,  1821  by  the  council  of  ap- 
apoinment  and  was  continued  in  office  by  the  judges 
of  Common  Pleas,    until   September   6,1836.     In 
1824,  he  was  appointed  Master  in  Chancery  and, 
justice   of  the  peace  ;    and,  he  held  the  office  of 
judge-advocate  of  the  15th  division   of  infantry 
in  the  state  militia   from ^1823   to  1831,    and  was 
appointed  judge  of  Common  Pleas  in  1843,  by  Gov. 
Bouck.     He  filled  every  office  with  credit  to  him- 
self and  honor  to  the  county,  and  pursued  his  pro- 
fession con  amo7'e,   never  fully  relinquishing  his 
practice.     He  was  an  impressive  advocate  before 
a  jury  and  an  influential  and  safe  counselor  in 


OP  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  307 

argument  before  the  bench.  He  married  Miss 
Eliza  AVhite,  daughter  of  Epenetus  AVliite,  jr.  of 
Ballston  Spa,  and  granddaughter  of  Judge  White, 
one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  town  of  Ballston,  who 
survives  him.  Possessed  of  .great  public  spirit, 
he  did  much  to  elevate  Saratoga  Springs  into  prom- 
inence as  a  watering  place,  and  was  one  of  the 
originators  of  the  Saratoga  and  Whitehall  railroad. 
Judge  Warren  was  of  medium  stature,  comely  in 
person  and  stately  manners  ;  yet  possessed  of  that, 
which  the  French  term  honneliommie^  which  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  strangers  at  their  iirst 
meeting  and  endeared  him  to  his  friends.  Deeply 
religious  in  thought,  through  his  long  life  he  illus- 
trated the  life  of  a  Christian  in  his  daily  walk  and 
conversation,  and  was  for  many  years  a  ruling 
elder  of  the  First  PreFbyterian  church  at  Saratoga 
Springs.  He  died  May  23,  1875.  Having  been  for 
several  years  the  patriarch  of  the  county  bar,  at 
the  next  term  of  the  Circuit  Court,  on  motion  of 
Judge  Lester,  customary  resolutions  of  respect 
were  adopted.  A  feeling  eulogy  was  pronounced 
by  Judge  Scott,  an  associate  of  the  deceased  at  the 
bar  for  thirty  years.  Addresses  were  also  made 
by  other  members  of  the  bar,  md  Judge  Landon 
adjourned  the  court,  after  directing  the  clerk  to 
make  the  suitable  entries  on  the  minutes. 

District  Attorney  Nicholas  Hill,  jr.  was  born  in 
Florida,  Montgomery  county  in  1805,  of  which 
town  his  grandfather,  John  Hill,  a  native  of  county 
Derry,  Ireland,  was  an  early  settler.     His  father 


308  THE  BENCH  AND  BAE 

was  a  revolutionary  soldier  and  was  with  Wasliing- 
ton  at  Yorktown.  Mr.  Hill  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice at  the  bar  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  August, 
1829,  and  forming  a  partnership  with  Deodatus 
Wright  tliey  opened  an  office  in  Amsterdam.  Short- 
ly afterwards,  he  removed  to  Saratoga  Springs, 
where  he  was  associated  with  Judge  Cowen  in  the 
preparation  of  "notes"  to  Phillips'  Evidence.  Re- 
moving to  Albany  about  1840,  he  was  appointed 
Supreme  Court  reporter  in  1841,  to  succeed  John 
L.  Wendell,  and  held  the  position  until  1844,  when 
Hiram  Denio  was  appointed.  He  publislied  the 
seven  volumes  of  '^Reports"  which  bear  his  name. 
In  Albany,  he  at  first  formed  a  legal  partnership 
with  the  late  Deodatus  Wright  and  Stephen  P. 
Nash.  Subsequently,  he  was  the  head  of  the  emi- 
nent legal  firm  of  Hill,  Cagger  &  Porter  ;  his  asso- 
ciases  being  the  late  Peter  Cagger  and  Hon.  John 
K.  Porter.  The  firm  stood  at  the  head  of  the  Capi 
tol  city  bar  and  occupied  a  high  rank  in  the  state. 
He  died  May  1.  1859. 

District  Attorney  Chesselde.i  Ellis  was  born  in 
New  Wmdsor,  Vt.,  in  the  year  1808.  He  was 
graduated  from  Union  college  in  the  class  of  1823, 
and  liaving  studied  law  with  Hon.  John  Cramer  of 
Waterford,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1829,  and 
soon  established  a  lucrative  practice  in  his  profess- 
ion. Natuaally  difladent,  although  a  vigorous  de- 
bater when  aroused,  he  preferred  to  be  known 
rather  as  a  counselor  than  as  an  advocate.  He  had 
a  keen  bright  eye  that  would  dilate  as  he  became 


or  BAEATOGA  COUNTY.  309 

engaged,  and  its  glance  wonld  seem  to  penetrate 
through  the  subject  upon  which  it  was  directed. 
He  was  five  feet  nine  inches  in  height,  of  splendid 
physique,  weighing  about  180  pounds.  To  a  sound 
body  was  united  a  mind  strongly  imbued  with  fine 
literary  tastes.  He  was  appointed  district  attor- 
ney April  25,  1837,  on  the  resignation  of  Nicholas 
Hill,  jr.,  and  held  the  office  until  September  11, 
1843,  when  he  resigned  to  take  his  seat  in  congress. 
Mainly  through  the  unsought  personal  influence  of 
his  law  partner.  Gen.  E,  F.  Bullard,  he  was  nomi- 
nated for  congress  by  the  democratic  party  in  1842 
and  was  elected.  When  congratulated  on  his  elec- 
tion he  said  he  was  "  frightened  at  the  prospect." 
A  strong  admirer  of  John  C.  Calhoun,  he  was  the 
only  congressman  from  this  state  who  was  on  inti 
mate  terms  with  the  great  South  Carolinian,  and  he 
voted  in  favor  of  the  annexation  of  Texas  by  joint 
resolution.  He  had  great  personal  influence  with 
President  Tyler  ;  and,  on  the  death  of  Judge  Smith 
Thompson,  the  appointment  of  the  vacant  place  on 
the  Supreme  Court  bench  was  placed  at  his  dis- 
posal ;  he  designated  Judge  Co  wen,  but  the  latter 
declined  the  honor.  Chancellor  Walworth  was 
then  appointed,  but  was  finally  rejected  by  the 
senate  on  political  grounds.  The  place  was  sub- 
sequently filled  by  President  Polk,  who  appointed 
Judge  Samuel  Nelson.  Mr.  Ellis  was  a  candidate 
^  for  re-election  in  the  exciting  campaign  of  1844,  but 
was  defeated  by  a  small  majority  by  the  whig  can- 
didate, Hon.  Hugh  White.     In  1845,   he  removed 


310  THE  BENCH   AlfD   BAR 

to  New  York  city  and  established  himself  in  the 
practice  of  the  law  at  the  head  of  the  legal  firm  of 
Ellis,  Burrill  and  Davison.  (The  latter  is  Charles 
A.  Davison,  son  of  Gideon  M,  Davison,  of  Saratoga 
Springs.)     He  died  in  1854. 

District  Attoiney  William  Augustus  Beach  is  a 
native  of  the  village  of  Ballston  Spa,  and  was  born 
at  the  residence  of  his  grandfather  Warren,  in  the 
building  on  Front  street  known  for  many  years  as 
the  ''Mansion  House."     His  father.  Miles  Beach, 
removed  to  the  town  of  Ballston  in  1786,  with  his 
father,  Zerah  Beach,  from  Salisbury,   Conn.     On 
his  mother's  side  Miles  Beach  was  related  to  Judge 
Smith  Thompson,  formerly  chief  justice  of  the  state 
and  afterwards  associate  judge  of  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court.     He   married,    in   1807,    Cynthia 
Warren,  sister  of  Judge  William  L.  F.  Warren. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  their  second  child. 
In  1809,  some  years  previous  to  the  birth  of  his 
illustrious    son.    Miles   Beach   removed  with  his 
family  to  Saratoga  Springs,  and  engaged  in  mer- 
cantile pursuits.    His  venerable  widow  yet  survives, 
and  completed  her  eighty-eighth  year  August  2, 
1876.     Their  distinguished  son  received  a  good  aca- 
demic education  at  Col.  Partridge's  Vermont  mili- 
tary institute,  and  was  bred  to  the  bar  under  the  di- 
rect tuition  of  Judge  Warren,  who  took  iudicious 
care  that   the  foundations  of  his  legal  knowledge 
should  be  laid  broad  and  deep.  Early  indicating  the* 
passion  for  forensic  debate  which  has  distinguished 
him  through  life  and  has  led  him  up  the  ladder  of 


OF  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  311 

fame  to  the  topmost  round,  he  acquired  the  use  of 
a  vocabulary  stored  with  terse  and  comprehensive 
Anglo  Saxon  ;   and  it  has  always  been   remarked 
that  he  talked  to  the  understanding  of  jurors  rathtn- 
than   seeming  to  confuse   them   with    long-drawn 
periods,  full  of  sounding  words  formed  from  the 
Latin  roots.     In  this  respect  he  more  nearly  resem- 
bles Daniel  Webster  than  any  other  living  American' 
lawyer.     He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  August, 
1833.    At  one  time  he  had  thoughts  of  removing  to 
the  West,  but  abandoned  the  idea  and  remained  in 
the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Saratoga  Springs, 
and  soon  came  to  the  front  rank  in  this  county. 
He  was  appointed  distii<-t  attorney  September  11, 
1843,  and  held  the  office  until  June,  1847,  when  his 
successor,  elected  under  tiie  constitution  of  1846, 
was  qualilied.     A  few  years  later  he  removed  to 
Troy,  and, forming  a  law  partnership  with  Job  Pier- 
son  and  Levi  Smith,  he  continued  the  practice  of 
his  profession   until   his  removal  to  New  York, 
about  seven  years   since.     While  living  in  Troy 
there  were  but  few  actions  tried  in  the  Rensselaer, 
Albany,  Saratoga  or  Washington  Circuits  or  Oyers 
in  which  he  was  not  engaged  as  counsel.    To  secure 
William  A.  Beach' s  services  was  to  many  litigants 
an  assurance  of  success.     And,  if  failure  met  his 
efforts,  which  it  did  but  rarely,  it  was  not  because 
he  had  not  exerted  his  full  strength  of  legal  talent 
and  persuasive  eloquence.     In  New  York  he  is  the 
head  of  the  lirm  of  Beach  &  Brown,  his  associates 
being  his  son,  Miles  Beach,  and  A.  C.   Brown. 


312  •  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR. 

His  rank  at  the  metropolitan  bar  is  in  the  circle 
which  embraces  such  names  as  O' Conor,  Evarts 
and  Porter.  Recently  he  was  senior  counsel  for 
the  plaintiff  in  the  celebrated  action  brought  by 
Theodore  Tilton  against  Henry  Ward  Beecher. 
But,  perhaps,  the  instance  in  which  his  talents  had 
the  largest  field  for  action,  and  in  which  he  stood 
In  the  full  plenitude  of  his  legal  fame,  was  his 
appearance  as  senior  counsel  for  the  defense  in  the 
great  impeachment  trial  of  Judge  George  G.  Bar- 
nard before  the  Court  of  Appeals  and  Senate,  sitting 
as  a  Court  of  Impeachment,  in  the  town  hall,  Sar- 
atoga Springs,  in  July,  1872,  to  which  place  it  had 
adjourned.  In  the  management  of  his  case,  his 
cross  examination  of  the  impeaching  witnesses  (next 
to  his  matchless  eloquence  his  strongest/br^d)  and 
his  final  appeal  were  such  as  are  seldom  equalled 
and  never  excelled  in  the  annals  of  jurisprudence. 
That  he  was  unsuccessful  in  gaining  an  acquittal 
was  due  to  the  conduct  of  his  client  during  the 
trial  and  the  po'itical  clamor  for  his  removal  from 
the  bench.  There  was  one  beautiful  feature  con- 
nected with  this  trial.  The  venerable  mother  of 
Mr  Beach  had  never  heard  her  famous  son  in  the 
forum,  and  at  the  beginning  of  each  day's  session 
of  this  trial  he  would  gallantly  escort  her  to  a  seat 
on  the  right  of  the  Lieutenant  Governor,  and  then 
take  his  seat  across  the  bar,  facing  her  When  he 
came  to  his  final  address  to  the  court,  in  a  tribute 
to  maternal  love,  alluding  to  the  anxious  waiting 
of  the  mother  of  the  accused,  he  advanced  towards 


OF  SARATOGA   COtJlfTT.  ,  3l3 

his  own  venerable  parent  and  in  a  strain  of  pathetic 
and  impassioned  eloquence  poured  forth  his  tribute 
of  filial  devotion.  Its  effect  was  highly  demonstrative 
and  there  was  not  a  dry  eye  in  the  vast  auditory  as 
the  great  lawyer  stood  as  a  child  in  the  presence  of 
her  wlio  gave  him  being  and  acknowledged  that 
his  all  was  owing  to  the  sanctity  of  her  prayers  and 
maternal  counsels.  The  personal  appearance  of  Mr. 
Beach  is  known  to  all  of  my  readers.  Of  a  tall  and 
commanding  figure,  straight  and  erect  as  a  model 
of  Grecian  statuary,  with  aquiline  features  and 
eagle  glance  his  is  a  form  and  countenance  easily 
marked  among  men  as  one  ranking  above  his  fel- 
lows. His  once  raven  hair  and  beard,  the  latter 
worn  on'y  on  the  chin, is  now  of  the  snowiest  hue. 
But  still  his  iron  'onstitution  and  indomitable  will 
power  renders  him  yet  a  man  in  his  prime.  Time 
sits  lightly  on  him  and  he  has  many  years  of  use- 
fulness in  the  profession  he  has  honored  with  his 
name  and  fame.  Socially  he  is  one  of  the  most 
gifted  of  men,  strong  in  his  friendship  and  genial 
in  every  sense  of  the  term.  The  only  persons  who 
can  say  that  there  is  a  harsh  side  to  his  nature  are 
those  who  have  endeavored  to  give  a  "crooked" 
version  of  a  transaction  on  the  witness  stand,  and 
then  saw  only  his  rigid  countenance  and  fiery  eye, 
as  he  forced  the  truth  from  their  lips  under  a 
searching  cross  examination. 

District  Attorney  John  Lawrence  of  Waterford 
is  a  native  of  Stillwater.     In  his  early  manhood  he 
w^as  a  successful  school  teacher  for  several  yeaxs. 
14 


314  THE  BENCH  AND   BAR 

He  studied  law  in  the  office  of  Porter  &  Waldron 
and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  May,  1847.  In 
June  of  that  year  he  was  elected  district  attorney, 
the  first  under  the  new  system.  He  married  the 
sister  of  Hon.  John  K.  Porter  and  practiced  his 
profession  for  several  years  in  Waterford.  After- 
wards, he  removed  to  Chicago,  where  he  embarked 
in  mercantile  pursuits.  Gaining  wealth,  he  retired 
from  business  last  }' ear,  and  returned  to  Waterford, 
where  he  has  again  established  his  home. 

District  Attorney  William  T.  Odell  was  the  son 
of  William  Odell,  a  farmer  of  the  town  of  Ballston, 
and  was  born  in  the  year  1814.  Educated  in  the 
common  schools,  supplemented  with  an  academic 
course,  he  for  several  years  followed  the  profession 
of  teaching  and  civil  engineering.  He  then  studied 
law  with  Judge  Scott, and  was  admitted  to  practice 
at  the  bar  in  1841.  He  married  the  daughter  of 
Alpheus  Goodrich  of  Ballston  Spa,  and  entered 
upon  a  fair  practice  in  that  village.  He  was  elected 
district  attorney  in  1850,  and  re-elected  in  1853. 
He  was  an  unsuccessful  candidate  for  the  same 
office  in  1856,  and  again  in  18r)iS.  An  ardent  dem- 
ocrat, he  never  refused  to  lead  the  foi'lorn  hope  of 
his  party  in  this  county,  and  was  their  candidate 
for  congress  in  1858,  for  the  state  senate  in  1863, 
and  for  the  assembly  in  1873.  He  was  supervisor 
of  Milton  in  1858  and  186u,  and  was  chairman  of 
the  board  in  the  former  yt^ar.  His  advice  was 
accepted  by  a  large  clientage,  and  prior  to  the 
general  prostration  of  his  health,  about  two  years 


OF  SARATOGA  OOUlfTY.  315 

previous  to  his  death,  his  practice  was  one  of  the 
largest  in  the  county;  as  is  shown  by  the  successive 
court  calendars.  He  died  March  8,  1 875.  At  the 
May  Circuit,  his  death  was  announced  at  a  meeting 
of  the  bar  and  the  customary  resolutions  were 
adopted. 

District  Attorney  John  O.  Mott  is  a  grandson  of 
Zebulon  Mott,  an  agriculturalist  of  Halfmoon,  who 
represented  that  town  in  the  board  of  suyervisors 
from  1801  to  1817,  inclusively.  The  latter  year  the 
town  was  designated  by  the  name  of  Orange.  In 
1820,  its  name  was  again  changed  to  Halfmoon. 
Young  Mott  studied  law  with  Hon.  John  K.  For 
ter,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1854.  At  first 
opening  an  office  at  Crescent,  he  soon  afterwards 
removed  to  Waterford,  where  he  formed  a  law 
partnership  with  Hon.  Cornelius  A.  Waldron,  the 
present  surrogate.  He  was  elected  district  attorney 
in  1856.  Several  years  since  he  removed  to  New 
York  city.  He  is  yet  in  the  prime  of  life  and  has 
secured  a  good  clientage  in  his  new  held,  o^nd  was 
recently,  in  connection  with  William  A.  Beach, 
counsel  for  Pesach  N.  Rubenstein,  the  Polish  Jew 
murderer,  managing  his  case  with  consummate 
skill.  He  is  reckoned  among  the  rising  lawyers  of 
the  metropolis. 

District  Attorney  Charles  S.  Lester,  1860-3.  (See 
ante^  County  Judge  Lester.) 

District  Attorney  Isaac  C.  Ormsby  of  Waterford 
is  a  son  of  Ira  Ormsby  a  farmer  who  tilled  the  rug- 
ged soil  of  Greenfield,  near  Porter's  Corners,  where 


S16  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

his  son  was  born  April  24,  1820.  The  latter  was 
educated  in  his*  home  district  school.  The  last 
term  that  he  attended  was  taught  by  Judge  Bockes. 
Next,  he  in  turn  taught  school  for  several  winters, 
but  having  determined  upon  his  future  course  in 
life,  he  entered  the  oflBce  of  Ellis  &  Bullard  in 
Waterford  in  the  year  1845,  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice in  Common  Pleas  in  December,  1846,  and  to 
the  bar  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  the  following  June. 
He  began  a  successful  practice  at  Waterford,  which 
he  yet  retains.  Mr.  Ormsby  is  of  medium  stature 
and  of  a  vital  temperament,  his  mind  is  of  a  quick 
intuitive  turn  ready  to  seize  a  point  at  an  instant, 
a  quality  of  eminent  use  in  the  duties  he  has  so 
long  and  ably  performed.  Naturally  not  a  fluent 
speaker,  when  he  becomes  warmed  in  his  subject 
he  speaks  strong,  terse  English  that  is  both  forcible 
and  to  the  point.  He  was  elected  district  attorney 
in  1862,  and  re  elected  in  1865.  In  1868,  he  was 
not  a  candidate  ;  but  was,  however,  again  chosen  in 
1871,  and  re-elected  in  1874.  He  is  a  fearless  and 
honest  public  officer  and  a  faithful  public  prose- 
cutor. A  Supreme  Court  justice,  who  has  held 
several  of  our  Oyer  and  Terminers,  said  of  Mr. 
Ormsby's  appearance  before  a  jury  as  a  prosecuting 
attorney  :  "  Without  the  eloquence  of  Mr.  Beach, 
but  with  his  earnest  manner  and  thorough  pre- 
paration he  is  a  more  dangerous  adv(^rsary  than 
Beach,  before  a  Saratoga  county  jury." 

District  Attorney  Winsor  Brown  French  is  the 
Bon  of  Luther  French,  a  former  citizen  of  Cavendish, 


OF  SARATOGA  OOUNTT.  317 

Windsor  county,  Vermont,  in  which  town  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  was  born  in  1832.  His  father 
removed  to  the  town  of  Wilton,  in  this  county,  in 
1836,  where  his  son  enjoyed  in  his  boyhood  the 
advantages  of  the  common  schools.  Conceiving 
a  taste  for  a  liberal  education,  he  was  fitted  for  col- 
lege at  the  Clinton  Liberal  Institute  and  the  Wood- 
stock academy,  and  entered  Tufft's  college,  Med- 
ford,  Mass.,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the 
class  of  1859.  Among  his  classmates  was  General 
Selden  Connor,  now  governor  of  Maine.  Such  was 
his  desire  to  obtain  his  college  degree  that  he  main- 
tained himself  during  his  course  by  teaching  com- 
mon and  singing  schools  in  the  northern  towns  of 
this  county  during  his  vacations.  Soon  after  leav- 
ing his  college  he  entered  the  law  office  of  Pond  & 
Lester,  in  Saratoga  Springs,  as  a  student,  where  he 
was  when  the  flag  waving  over  Fort  Sumpter  was 
fired  upon.  When  Hon.  James  B.  McKean,  in  the 
summer  following,  issued  his  stirring  call  for  a 
Bemis  Heights  batallion,  he  at  once  volunteered  for 
the  war  and  recruited  a  company  from  the  town  of 
Wilton,  of  which  he  was  chosen  captain.  When 
the  battalion  became  the  seventy- seventh  regiment 
he  was  appointed  its  adjutant,  and  was  successively 
promoted  to  be  major,  lieutenant  colonel  and  col- 
onel, sharing  its  fortunes  on  every  field  in  Virginia, 
from  the  memorable  charge  at  Williarasburgh  to 
the  Forks  of  the  Appomattox  as  it  followed  the 
"cross"  of  the  sixth  corps.  At  Cedar  Creek,  on 
the  "  Winchester  pike,"  October  19, 1864,  after  the 


318  THE  BEWOH  ATTD  BAR 

fall  of  Colonel  Bidwell  lie  succeeded  to  the  command 
of  the  third  brigade.  As  Sheridan  rode  his  black 
charger  "from  Winchester  twenty  miles  away,"  he 
dashed  np  to  where  French's  brigade  held  the  left 
and  emphatically  told  them  to  'stand  firm."  The 
brave  French  responded  that  his  men  could  not 
stand  under  such  a  fire,  but  if  the  word  was  given 
he  would  charge  the  rebel  line.  "Charge,"  thun- 
dered Sheridan,  and  the  survivors  of  the  third  bri- 
gade under  its  youthful  leader  rallied  on  their  colors 
and,  sweeping  over  the  stone  wall,  bore  the  rebels 
before  them  This  was  the  signal  for  the  charge 
along  the  whole  line  which  sent  Early  whirling  up 
the  valley.  For  this  intrepid  discharge  of  his  duty 
he  was,  on  the  recommendation  of  Gen.  Sheridan, 
brevetted  brigadier  general  "for  gallant  and  merit- 
orious service  at  Cedar  Creek,  performed  under  the 
eye  of  his  commanding  officer."  At  the  close  of  the 
war  he  was  mustered  out  of  the  service  and  laid  aside 
the  sword  for  the  pen,  exchanging  the  battle  field 
for  the  forum.  Having  been  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  May,  1861,  he  now  formed  a  law  partnershiiD 
with  Alembert  Pond,  which  still  exists  under  the 
name  of  Pond,  French  &  Brackett.  He  was  chosen 
district  attorney  in  November,  1868,  and  served 
acceptably  for  three  years  from  the  first  of  January 
following.  He  is  a  pleasant  speaker  and  an  able 
debater.  In  politics  he  is  a  republican,  but  in  1872 
his  devotion  to  principle  led  him  to  support  and 
vote  for  Horace  Greeley  for  president. 


OF  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  319 

COUNTY   CLERKS. 

The  office  of  county  clerk  was  adopted  by  tlie 
constitution  of  1777  from  the  colonial  system,  and 
the  incumbents  were  continued  in  office,  provided 
they  adhered  to  the  patriot  cause.  They  were 
appointed  by  the  governor  and  council  and  held 
office  at  their  pleasure.  Hitherto  clerks  of  Common 
Pleas  and  Court  of  Sessions,  by  the  act  of  Ft!bruary 
12,  1796,  they  were  made  clerks  of  the  Circuit 
Court  and  Oyer  and  Terminer.  Since  1822,  they 
have  been  elected  for  terms  of  three  years.  The 
present  constitution  makes  tlem  clerks  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  in  their  several  counties.  By  virtue 
of  their  office  they  are  registers  of  deeds  and  mort- 
gages, except  in  the  counties  of  Westchester,  Kings 
and  New  York,  where  special  officers  are  chosen 
as  guardians  of  the  public  and  private  records. 

Concerning  Dirck  Swart,  the  lirst  county  clerk 
of  this  county,  but  little  is  known  to  the  present 
generation  beyond  the  facts  to  be  learned  in  the 
public  records.  He  was  a  miller  and  lived  at  what 
is  now  Stillwater  village.  It  would  seem  that  he 
was  an  ardent  patriot,  for  his  name  appears  as  one 
of  the  delegates  from  Albany  county  to  the  first 
colonial  convention  which  met  at  New  York,  April 
20,  1775.  He  was  a  firm  friend  of  Gen.  Philip 
Schuyler.  During  the  summer  of  1777,  Schuyler' s 
headquarters  were  established  at  his  house.  (Yet 
standing  in  the  north  part  of  the  village  and  now, 
or  recently,  the  property  of  Mr.  James  March.) 


320  THE  BETTOH  AND  BAR 

From  it  Arnold  marched  to  the  relief  of  Ganzevoort 
at  Fort  Stanwix,  in  August  of  that  year.  He  was 
a  member  of  assembly  from  Albany  county  from 
1780  to  ITbf),  inclusively,  and  also,  of  the  conven- 
tion which  met  at  Poughkeepsie,  June  17,  1788,  to 
deliberate  upon  the  adoption  of  the  federal  consti- 
tution. From  the  records  it  does  not  appear  that 
he  voted  upon  the  question  of  ratification.  Four 
of  his  colleagues  voted  no,  and  two  beside  himself 
abstained  from  voting.  Thus  Albany  county  appears 
upon  thf^  records  as  unanimously  opposed  to  the 
adoption  of  what  has  long  been  known  as  the  "pal- 
ladium of  our  national  hopes."  He  was  appointed 
county  clerk  of  Saratoga  county  by  Gov.  George 
Clinton,  February  17,  1791,  and  held  the  office 
thirteen  years.  He  kept  the  records  at  his  resi- 
dence, and  from  them,  as  they  now  appear,  it  is 
known  that  he  was  possessed  of  two  inestimable 
qualities  in  a  recording  officer :  viz.,  he  wrote  a 
round,  plain  and  legible  hand  and  used  an  unfading 
quality  of  ink. 

County  clerk  Seth  C.  Baldwin  was  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  the  town  of  Ballston,  living  on 
what  has  long  been  known  as  the  Col.  Young  farm. 
He  was  a  man  of  prominence  in  those  early  days, 
having  been  elected  to  the  state  assembly  for  three 
years  from  1797,  and  was  elected  supervisor  of 
Ballston  in  1793,  and  again  in  1800-1.  In  the  latter 
year  he  was  appointed  sheriff.  He  held  that  office 
until  February  17,  1804,  when  he  was  appointed 


J 


or   SARATOGA   COFNTT.  321 

county  clerk,  and  held  the  office  for  nine  years, 
keeping  the  records  at  his  residence. 

County  clerk  Levi  H.  Palmer  was  a  son  of  Judge 
Beriah  Palmer  of  Ballston,  and  was  graduated  from 
Union  college  in  the  class  of  1799.  He  studied  law, 
and  practiced  his  profession  for  several  years  at 
Ballston  Spa,  living  and  having  his  office  in  the 
house  near  the  west  end  of  Front  street,  now  owned 
by  Miss  Catherine  Bradley.  He  was  appointed 
clerk  March  5,  1813,  and  held  the  office  two  years  ; 
he  removed  the  records  to  Ballston  Spa  and  kept 
them  in  his  law  office.  He  was  largely  engaged  in 
suits  involving  patent  land  titles  and  suits  in  parti- 
tion. Subsequently,  he  removed  to  Albany  and 
continued  the  practice  of  his  profession. 

County  clerk  William  Stilwell  was  born  in  that 
part  of  the  Van  Rensselaer  manor  which  is  now  a 
part  of  the  town  of  Stephentown,  Rensselaer  county, 
in  the  j^ear  1706.  He  was  apprenticed  to  the  cabi- 
net trade,  and  in  the  latter  years  of  the  last  century 
he  established  himself  in  that  business  in  the  new 
settlement  at  Ballston  Spa.  At  one  time  he  had 
his  shop  and  residence  near  the  V  corners  on  the 
farm  now  owned  by  the  heirs  of  Harmonis  Peek. 
Afterwards,  he  removed  to  the  village  to  the  resi- 
dence which  he  built  and  designated  as  Mount 
Moreno,  being  the  place  recently  owned  by  Jona- 
than S.  Beach  at  the  corner  of  Milton  avenue  and 
Pleasant  street ;  his  cabinet  shop  was  then  in  the 
building  now  occupied  as  a  residence  by  J.  G. 
Christopher  on  Front  street.     He  was   appointed 


322  THE   BENCH   AND   BAR 

one  of  the  judges  of  Common  Pleas  in  1811,  and 
county  clerk  February  17,  1815,  and  held  the  office 
three  years.  He  kept  the  records  at  first  in  his 
cabinet  shop,  above  mentioned,  until  he  completed 
and  removed  to  his  residence  on  what  is  now  Church 
avenue,  and  now  owned  and  occupied  by  his  son- 
in-law,  the  venerable  Chester  Clapp.  Mr.  Clapp 
was  deputy  clerk  under  Mr.  Stilwell.  Many  of  the 
records  in  his  term  were  entered  in  the  neat  pen- 
manship of  Mrs.  Clapp.  Judge  Stilwell  died  it 
Ballston  Spa,  April  12,  1854. 

County  clerk  Thomas  Palmer  was,  also,  a  son 
of  Judge  Beriah  Palmer  and  a  nephew  of  the  Thom- 
as Palmer  who  was  one  of  the  commissioners  to 
survey  the  patent  of  Kayaderosseras  in  1769.  He 
was  graduated  from  Union  college  in  the  class  of 
1803,  studied  law,  and  began  its  practice  in  Ballston 
Spa.  On  the  death  of  his  father,  who  was  incum- 
bent of  the  office, he  was  appointed  surrogate,  March 
31,  1812,  held  the  office  one  year,  and  was  again 
appointed,  February  17,  1815,  and  performed  its 
duties  until  July  8,  1816.  He  was  appointed  clerk, 
June  16,  1818,  and  held  the  office  until  he  resigned, 
January  1,  1833;  having  been  elected  under  the 
constitution  of  1821,  and  re-elected  until  that  time. 
He  was  elected  supervisor  of  Milton  in  1822,  and 
successively  r<^-elected  until  and  including  1832. 
When  he  was  county  cleik  he  kept  the  records,  at 
first,  in  his  office  in  the  building  now  occupied  as 
a  residence  by  Alfred  ISoxon  at  the  west  end  of 
Front  street,  Ballston  Spa.     In  1824,  the  legislature 


OF  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  323 

authorized  the  erection  of  a  '  'suitable  building  for 
the  preservation  of  the  county  records,"  at  an 
expense  of  $1,000,  and  appointed  Edward  Watrous, 
Eli  Barnum  and  Moses  Williams  a  committee  of 
construction.  The  result  was  the  erection  of  the 
familiar  stone  edifice  which  for  forty  two  years  was 
designated  as  the  "county  clerk's  ofiice."  It  was 
first  occupied  Jby  clerk  Palmer  in  the  autumn  of 
1^4.  The  occasion  of  his  resignation  was  his  ap- 
pointment by  the  directors  of  the  Schenectady  bank 
(then  a  new  institution)  to  be  its  cashier.  He 
accepted  the  offer  and  removed  to  that  city,  where 
he  died  in  1855.  No  attorney  in  this  county  ever 
gained  the  confidence  of  the  farmers  to  the  extent 
enjoyed  by  genial  "Tommy  Palmer."  Whatever 
he  told  them  they  accepted  as  legal  truth,  and  he 
never  belied  their  trust. 

County  clerk  Alpheus  Groodrich  was  born  in 
Lenox,  Massachusetts,  June  10,  1874,  from  whence 
his  father,  Allen  Goodrich,  removed  to  the  town  of 
Galway,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century.  He 
was  educated  in  Lenox  academy,  studied  law  with 
Judge  James  Thompson  and  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice in  1811.  Soon  after,  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  Judge  Thompson  which  continued  until  1821. 
He  married  Miss.  Nancy  Stocking  of  Lenox,  in  1812; 
was  elected  clerk  of  the  board  of  supervisors  the 
same  year,  and  served  in  that  capacity  acceptably, 
it  would  appear,  for  he  was  annuallj^  re-elected 
each  year  until  and  including  1840,  the  year  pre- 
ceding his  death  ;    he  was  appointed  one  of  the 


324  THE  BEWCH  AKD  BAH. 

superintendents  of  the  poor  in  1827,  and  re-appoint- 
ed the  next  year  ;  he  was  chosen  to  the  assembly 
in  1824,  and  again  in  1827.  In  1823  lie  removed 
from  the  Middle  Line  to  Ballston  Spa  and  formed 
a  law  partnership  with  Thomas  Palmer.  When 
the  latter  resigned  the  office  of  county  clerk,  Mr 
Goodrich  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Marcy  to  fill  the 
unexpired  term,  January  2,  1833.  In  November 
of  the  same  year,  he  was  elected  for  a  full  term  and 
was  re-elected  in  1836.  He  died  at  his  residence  m 
Ballston  Spa.  April  28,  1841. 

Coui-ty  clerk  Archibald  Smith  was  the  son  of 
Jeremiah  Smith,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Charl- 
ton. He  was  born  December  13,  1788,  and,  atter 
passing  his  youth  on  his  father' s  farm,  he  fitted 
himself  for  college  and  was  graduated  from  Union 
in  the  class  of  1814.  He  next  studied  law  in  the 
office  of  Abraham  Van  Vecht<'U  in  Albany.  After 
his  admission  to  the  Dutchess  county  bar  he  opened 
an  office  in  Poughkeepsie  and  built  up  an  exten- 
sive legal  practice.  He  was  not^d  for  his  thorough- 
ness in  preparing  his  causes  for  trial,  a  quality  that 
every  successful  lawyer  possesses  to  a  great  degree. 
In  the  year  1830,  his  health  failing,  he  gave  up  his 
practice  and  returned  to  Charlton  to  his  ancestral 
acres,  on  which  his  sons,  Martin  H.  and  Theodore, 
now  reside.  Although  never  again  fully  entering 
upon  the  practice  of  his  profession,  he  occasionally 
appeared  at  the  bar  of  the  Circuit  and  Supreme 
courts  in  this  and  other  counties.  Through  the 
influence  of  Hon.  Anson  Brown  he  was  nominated 


OF  SARATOGA  COUITTT.  325 

by  the  whigs  for  county  clerk  in  1839,  against 
Alpheus  Goodrich.  A  strong  personal  canvass 
was  made  and  he  was  chosen  by  a  small  majority  ; 
he  served  three  years  and  was  not  a  candidate  for 
re-election.  Mr.  Smith  was  a  ripe  and  thorough 
scholar,  and  like  many  others  whose  minds  become 
imbued  with  classical  studies  he  seemed  to  the 
casual  observer  to  be  abstracted  from  the  present ; 
and  he  was  thought  to  be  gruff  and  marose.  But 
his  friends,  those  who  knew  the  man,  say  that  he 
was  a  true  and  generous  friend.  He  died  at  his 
rural  iiome  in  Charlton,  May  6,  1869. 

County  clerk  Horace  Goodrich  was  the  son  of 
Alpheus  Goodrich  and  was  born  in  Milton  in  the 
year  1818.  Receiving  a  good  business  education  in 
the  common  schools  and  at  Lenox  (Mass.) Academy, 
he  entei^d  the  county  clerk's  office  under  his 
father's  administration  as  a  registrar,  and  the  fair 
pages  of  the  records  bear  testimony  to  his  careful 
habits  and  excellent  penmanship.  In  1841  he  was 
chosen  clerk  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  and  the 
next  year  he  was  elected  by  the  democratic  party 
to  be  county  clerk.  He  served  one  term  and  was 
defeated  in  184o,  in  a  close  contest  by  James  W. 
HortoH,  the  whigs  advocating  rotation  in  office. 
The  argument  used  in  later  days  by  the  party 
press  supporting  Mr.  Horton  for  his  frequent  re- 
elections  is  but  an  echo  of  the  pleas  put  forth  by 
the  Ballston  Democrat  and  Saratoga  Sentinel  in 
1845,  in  favor  of  the  retention  in  office  of  Mr.  Good- 
rich. The  former,  in  particular,  plead  his  long  con- 
14* 


326  THE  BENCH  AND   BAE 

nection  with  and  thorough  knowledge  of  the  details 
of  his  office.  Soon  after  his  retirement  from  the 
clerkship  he  accepted  the  position  of  teller  in  the 
Schenectady  bank,  of  which  his  brother,  William 
L.,  is  now  the  (;ashier,  removed  to  that  city,  and 
yet  retains  that  position  and  residence. 

Connty  clerk  James  Watson  Horton  was  born  in 
the  hotel  yet  standing  at  Academy  Hill,  Ballston, 
September  29,  1810.  His  father,  Ezekiel  Horton, 
was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  after  his  removal 
to  Ballston  Avas  an  inn  keeper.  Mr.  Horton  was 
educated  at  the  old  Ballston  academy.  In  1829, 
he  came  to  Ballston  Spa  and  entered  the  employ  of 
Smith  &  Patchin,  dry  goods  dealers.  In  1836,  he 
purchased  the  drug  store  established  in  1824  by 
Dr.  Jonathan  Williams,  (now  kept  by  C.  O.  Mc- 
Creedy  &  Co  ,)  and  was  appointed  postmaster  in 
1841  by  President  Harrison.  In  1848,  he  was  re- 
moved by  President  Tyler.  This  act  led  to  his 
nomination  for  clerk  by  the  whigs  in  1845,  against 
the  popular  incumbent,  who  was  supported  by  the 
democrats.  The  result  was  a  triumphant  election, 
which  has  been  continued  by  ten  successive  re- 
elections  to  the  present  time.  This  long  incum- 
bency in  this  office  has  been  exceeded  in  this  state 
only  by  two  instances :  viz.  Thomas  Archibald, 
clerk  of  Warren  county,  who  was  first  appointed 
February.  13,  1821,  and  continued  by  elections  until 
January  1,  1861 — a  period  but  a  few  days  short  of 
forty  years.  The  other  was  the  instance  of  Gov. 
George  Clinton,  who  was  appointed  clerk  of  Ulster 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  827 

county  by  the  colonial  governor  Cadwallader  Col- 
den,  December  12,  1760,  and  continued  in  office 
until  his  death  in  1812,  extending  (wer  an  interval 
of  fifty-two  years.  During  this  time  he  was  for 
three  terms  governor  of  the  state  and  twice  elected 
Vice  President  of  the  United  States.  In  the  body 
of  this  work  I  have  spoken  of  the  reasons  that  have 
been  potent  in  causing  Mr.  Horton's  retention  in 
office  by  the  people.  Attorneys  and  title  searchers 
from  other  counties  say  that  no  other  clerk's  office 
in  the  state  is  kept  in  a  neater  or  more  accessible 
manner.  As  a  citizen  he  is  held  in  high  esteem  by 
his  townsmen.  For  over  thirty  years  he  has  been 
either  vestryman  or  warden  of  Christ  church.  Balls- 
ton  Lpa,  and  for  several  years  its  senior  warden. 
He  has  been  twice  married  ;  first  to  Mrs.  Abba 
Peck,  daughter  of  William  Clark,  formerly  a  well 
known  inn  keeper  at  the  county  seat,  and  after  her 
deathj  to  Miss  Julia  E.  Betts,  daughter  of  Harvey 
Betts  of  Troy,  formerly  deputy  clerk  of  Rensselaer 
county. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

SHERIFFS  OF  SA.RATOGA  COUNTY. 

The  office  of  sheriff  is  an  important  adjunct  of 
our  courts,  for  the  incumbent  is  the  executive  officer 
who  causes  its  mandates  to  be  obeyed.  Since  the 
creation  of  our  county  its  shrievalty  has  been  held 
by  twenty  seven  gentlemen,  of  whom  but  twelve  are 
now  alive.  Prior  to  1823,  they  were  appointed  and 
held  office  during  the  pleasure  of  the  appointing 
power.  Gen.  John  Dunning  of  Malta  was  the  first 
successful  candidate  before  the  people  for  the  office, 
and  is  noted  for  having  held  the  position  for  three 
terms  ;  once  by  appointment,  from  1819  to  1821, 
and  twice  by  election  for  the  terms  of  three  year, 
beginning  January  1,  1823,  and  January  1,  1829. 
and  was  also  jailor  for  the  period  between  1819  and 
1835.  He  was  a  prominent  man  in  his  town  and 
held  the  office  of  supervisor  for  six  years  from  1813; 
and  was  also  distinguished  as  an  officer  in  the  state 
militia,  holding  the  rank  of  Major  General.  He 
was  a  citizen  without  an  enemy  and  a  public  officer 
without  reproach.  He  died  October  16,  1850,  and 
is  interred  in  the  cemetery  at  Dunning  Street.  He 
was  in  the  84th  year  of  his  age.  The  large  pubic 
square  at  Dunning  Street  is  a  monument  of  his 
generous  spirit. 


OF  SARATOGA  OOtTNTT,  329 

Sheriff  Lyman  B.  Langworthy  was  the  son  of 
Rev.  Elisha  P.  Langworthy,  the  pioneer  Baptist 
minister  of  Saratoga  county,  and  was  born  in  New- 
Lebanon,  Columbia  county,  N.  Y.,  October  21, 1787. 
His  father  removed  to  Court  House  Hill  in  1798, 
and  the  next  year  to  Ballston  Spa.  On  attaining 
the  age  of  manhood  he  embarked  in  trade  as  a 
hardware  merchant  in  that  village,  and  also  became 
quite  prominent  as  a  politician,  editing  for  a  time 
the  paper  published  by  Josiah  Bunce  and  called 
the  Saratoga  Journal.  It  was  particularly  noted 
for  its  sharp  thrusts  at  its  federal  opponent,  the 
Independent  American,  edited  by  James  Corn- 
stock.  Mr.  Langworthy  was  elected  sheriff  at  the 
general  election  in  1825  and  served  three  years.  At 
the  expiration  of  his  term  he  removed  to  Roches- 
ter, N.  Y.,  where  he  again  embarked  in  the  hard- 
ware trade.  He  was  one  of  the  projectors  and 
builders  of  the  Rochester  and  Buffalo  Railroad. 
As  its  superintendent,  in  July,  1837,  he  drove  the 
first  spike  in  the  first  railroad  west  of  Utica,  now  a 
part  of  the  New  York  Centr  il,  and  a  connecting 
link  in  the  great  trans-continental  line  from  ocean 
to  ocean.  He  informs  me  that  the  receipts  from 
travel  over  the  road  for  its  first  week  after  com- 
pletion was  ten  dollars.  He  afterwards  lived 
twenty  years  on  a  farm  in  the  town  of  Greece,  Mon- 
roe county  ;  but  now  resides  in  Rochester  with  his 
daughter,  the  widow  of  Judge  Buchan  of  that  city. 
Although  on  the  'verge  of  his  ninetieth  year,  his 
mind  is  unimpaired  and  he  delights  to  talk  of  his 


330  THE  BENCH  AKD  BAR 

early  years,  and  the  author  is  indebted  to  him  for 
many  interesting  incidents  related  in  these  pages. 
Time  has  indeed  dealt  gently  with  him,  and  the 
weight  of  his  advanced  years  has  but  slightly 
bowed  his  tall  and  stalwart  frame. 

Sheriff  Joseph  Jennings  was  born  in  the  town  of 
Ballston,  near  the  hamlet  that  is  known  as  Hop 
City,  December  23,  1786.  His  father  Edmund 
Jennings,  settled  there  shortly  before  the  revolu- 
tion. Mr.  Jennings  was  brought  up  as  a  farmer 
and  intended  that  to  be  his  life  vocation.  When 
he  was  about  thirty  years  of  age,  he  was  prostrated 
by  a  long  sickness  which  rendered  him  unable  to 
perform  agricultural  labors.  Having  been  chosen 
constable  he  removed  to  Ballston  Spa,  and  soon 
after  was  appointed  deputy  sheriff  by  Gen.  Dun- 
ning. He  at  last  gave  up  his  intention  of  retura- 
ing  to  farm  life  and  purchased  the  Milton  House  in 
that  village,  which  he  conducted  until  about  ten 
years  since,  and  which  is  still  his  home.  He  was 
elected  to  the  office  of  sheriff  in  1834,  and  served 
until  January  1,  1838.  He  is  the  oldest  living  ex- 
sheriff,  although  Mr.  Langworthy  antedates  him  in 
office  nine  years.  In  his  prime,  he  was  one  of  the 
most  influential  men  in  this  county,  and  the  opinion 
of  "  Uncle  Joe"  was  sought  and  heard  by  many  in 
matters  political  and  otherwise.  His  family  have 
all  been  gathered  home,  and  the  sole  solace  of  his 
advanced  years  is  the  one  granddaughter  in  whom 
is  centered  his  affections.  While  belonging  to  an 
age  that  is  past,  he  has  ever  kept  a  lively  interest 


OF  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  331 

in  the  present,  and  it  is  one  of  his  proudest  boasts 
that  he  has  never  slighted  the  freeman's  privilege, 
but  has  voted  at  every  election  since  attaining  his 
majority. 

Sheriff  Isaac  Prink  v^as  born  in  Milton,  May  10, 
1799.  His  father,  Henry  Frink,  was  one  of  the  tirst 
settlers  of  the  north  part  of  the  town,  belonging  to 
the  Connecticut  colony  which  settled  the  neigh- 
borhoods of  Stone  Church  and  South  Greenfield, 
he  was  a  prominent  citizen  and  was  elected  super- 
visor in  1800-1.  Sheriff  Frink  has  been  an  agricul- 
turist all  his  life,  living  on  the  farm  he  inheiiled 
from  his  father,  and  his  house  stands  within  a  tew 
rods  of  the  site  of  the  log  house  first  erected  by  his 
ancestor.  He  was  frequently  called  on  to  hold  town 
offices  and  was  supervisor  for  the  years  1838-4-5-6- 
7.  In  1844,  he  was  the  democratic  and  successful 
candidate  for  sheriff,  and  enjoys  the  distinction  of 
being  the  last  gentleman  of  that  political  persuasion 
to  hold  that  important  office  in  this  county.  He  is 
yet  in  vigorous  health,  appearing  to  be  a  man  of 
about  sixty  summers. 

Sheriff  Theodore  W.  Sanders  was  elected  from 
the  town  of  Corinth  for  the  term  beginning  January 
1,  18.^0.  He  had  previously  held  the  office  of  super- 
visor of  that  town  in  1845-6.  Meeting  with  final- 
cial  reverses  he  resigned  his  office  in  1852.  He  at 
present  resides  in  the  city  of  Albany. 

Sheriff  William  T.  Seymour  is  a  native  of  Still 
water  and  was  born  about  the  beginning  of  this 
century.     His  father  was  one  of  the  Connecticut 


832  THE  BENCH  AND  BAB 

colony  who  settled  near  the  Yellow  Meeting  house 
before  the  revolution.  Sheriff  Seymour  was  edu- 
cated at  Union  college,  taught  school  for  several 
years,  studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  practice. 
He  settled  at  Waterford  and  soon  after  turned  his 
attention  to  banking,  and  was  for  a  score  of  years 
cashier  of  the  Saratoga  County  bank.  In  1862,  he 
was  appointed  sheriff  by  Gov.  Hunt,  on  the  resig- 
nation of  Theodore  W.  Sanders,  and  was  supervi- 
sor of  Waterford  in  1844.  He  now  resides  in  that 
town. 

Sheriff  Henry  H.  Hathorn  is  a  native  of  Green- 
field and  is  about  fifty- five  years  of  age.  His  father 
was  a  farmer  and  educated  his  son  in  the  common 
schools  and  at  Fairfield  academy,  in  Herkimer 
county.  (Among  his  classmates  there  were  Rev. 
Zerah  T.  Hoyt  of  Greenfield,  and  Dr.  William  C. 
McKay,  the  famous  Indian  interpreter  and  chief  of 
the  Warm  Spring  tribe  in  Oregon,  whose  brother, 
Donald  was  the  noted  scout  in  the  Modoc  war.) 
Sheriff  Hathorn,  after  completing  his  academic  life, 
became  a  clerk  in  J.  R.  Westcott's  store  in  Saratoga 
Springs.  Next  he  embarked  in  hotel  life  as  a  joint 
proprietor  of  the  old  Union  Hall,  the  first  great 
hotel  at  the  famous  watering  place.  He  then  pur- 
chased an  interest  in  Congress  Hall,  the  management 
of  which  he  retained  until  the  present  year  ;  build- 
ing after  the  disastrous  fire  of  1866  the  present  mag- 
nificent hotel  known  by  that  name.  For  many 
years  he  has  been  a  prominent  citizen  of  his  adopted 
town,  and  was  elected   supervisor  in   1868,  1860, 


OP  SARATOGA   COtJNTT.  cS 

1866  and  1867.  He  was  elected  sheriff  in  1852,  and 
again  in  1862,  an  honor  hitherto  conferred  on  only 
one  person  since  the  constitutional  provision  was 
adopted  forbidding  their  election  to  successive 
terms.  In  1872,  he  was  chosen  to  the  national 
house  of  representatives  by  the  republican  party, 
over  Daniel  B.  Judson,  democratic  liberal ;  and  was 
re-elected  in  1874,  over  Walter  T.  L.  Sanders,  dem- 
ocrat.    His  term  will  expire  March  3,  1877. 

Sheriff  Philip  H.  McOmber  was  born  in  the  town 
of  Washington,  Dutchess  county,  N.  Y.,  in  1791. 
His  father  removed  to  Galway,in  this  county  about 
the  year  1796.  Sheriff  McOmber  at  first  followed 
an  agricultural  life.  He  was  appointed  a  deputy 
sheriff  by  sheriff  Brisbin,  in  1815,  and  was  contin 
ued  in  that  position  for  fifteen  years.  While  hold- 
ing that  office  he  and  his  brother  deputies,  Potter 
Johnson  and  Joseph  Jennings,  prepared  Benjamin 
Bennett  in  his  cell  the  fatal  day.  Afterwards  he 
embarked  in  mercantile  and  manufacturing  business 
at  Ballston  Spa,  and  in  his  mill  was  woven  the  first 
cotton  sheeting  made  in  this  county.  In  1847,  he 
was  appointed  jailor  by  sheriff  Low  and  performed 
the  duties  of  that  office  for  twelve  years.  In  1856, 
he  was  elected  sheriff,  and  after  the  expiration  of 
his  term  removed  to  Saratoga  Springs,  where  he 
now  resides.  Having  recovered  from  a  severe  ill- 
ness in  1874,  he  is  now  enjoying,  one  may  almost 
say,  robust  health,  and  is  able  to  take  long  walks 
about  the  beautiful  streets  of  that  village.  He 
retains  his  memory  unimpaired,  and  next  to  ex- 


334  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

sheriff  LaDgworthy  his  recollection  dates  further 
back  than  any  other  gentleman  with  whom  the 
author  has  conversed  on  the  topics  embraced  in  this 
book ;  the  incidents  appearing  as  fresh  to  him  as 
those  of  the  great  rebellion  to  the  present  genera- 
tion. 

Sheriff  George  B.  Powell  was  born  in  the  town 
of  Milton,  and  was  the  son  of  Judge  Elisha  Powell, 
one  of  the  early  settlers  and  foremost  men  of  the 
town  half  a  century  ago.  He  was  a  farmer  in  that 
town,  and  about  fifty  years  of  age  when  he  was 
chosen  sheriff,  in  1858.  During  his  term  of  office 
he  was  jailor  in  person,  being  the  first  incumbent 
since  the  time  of  Gen.  Dunning  who  moved  his 
family  into  the  court  house.  At  the  expiration  of 
his  term,  January  1,  1862,  he  removed  to  the  city 
of  Oswego,  where  he  now  resides,  and  embarked 
in  the  lumber  trade. 

Sheriff  Joseph  Baucus  is  a  native  of  Schaghti- 
coke,  Rensselaer  county  and  is  now  about  seventy 
years  of  age.  He  purchased  a  farm  in  Northum- 
berland in  1833,  and  removed  to  that  town  He 
soon  took  a  foremost  position  in  his  town,  and  has 
been  chosen  supervisor  ten  times,  the  first  being  in 
1842.  He  represented  the  second  district  of  this 
county  in  the  assemblies  of  1854  and  1866,  and 
was  elected  sheriff  in  1864.  He  has  recently  made 
his  home  in  Saratoga  Springs.  His  son,  Alexan 
der  B.  Baucus,  is  the  present  supervisor  of  North- 
umberland, and  is  serving  his  fifth  term  in  the 
county  legislature. 


OF  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  335 

Sheriff  Tabor  B.  Reynolds  is  a  native  of  Wilton, 
and  is  a  son  of  Dr.  Henry  Reynolds,  a  former  well 
known  physician  of  that  town.  His  two  sons,  John 
and  Tabor  B.,  received  good  academic  educations 
and  were  bred  to  their  father's  profession.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  1821.  He  was 
repeatedly  honored  with  official  trusts  by  his  towns- 
men ;  he  was  town  superintendent  of  schools  from 
1847  to  1852,  and  held  the  office  of  supervisor  in 
the  years  1856-7-63-4-5-6-7,  and  was  chosen  by  the 
democrats  and  Americans  to  represent  the  second 
assembly  district  in  the  legislature  of  1858.  On 
the  outbreak  of  the  war,  he  joined  the  part}^  which 
was  sustaining  the  hands  of  the  government  and 
was  chosen  sheriff  in  1868.  Since  his  retirement 
from  office,  he  has  removed  to  Saratoga  Springs, 
and  is  now  engaged  in  an  extensive  and  lucrative 
practice  of  his  profession. 

Sheriff  Thomas  Noxon  was  born  in  Beekman, 
Dutchess  county,  N.  Y.,  in  the  year  1816.  His 
father  was  a  shoemaker,  and  Thomas  was  his  sec- 
ond son  ;  he  removed  to  Clifton  Park  village, 
where  the  subject  of  this  sketch  received  a  good 
business  education.  He  adopted  at  the  first  outset 
in  life  the  business  of  a  farmer  and  afterwards  that 
of  a  merchant  trading  in  the  latter  capacity  for 
twenty- three  years  in  Clifton  Park  village,  of  which 
he  was  postmaster  under  the  administration  of 
President  Lincoln ;  he  represented  the  town  of 
Halfmoon  in  the  board  of  supervisors  during  the 
years  1856-7  60-1-4-5  6.     Such  was  his  popularity 


336  rHE  BEKCfl  AWD  BAB. 

in  that  politically  close  divided  town  that  the 
republicans  deemed  themselves  sure  to  win  if  they 
could  get  his  name  on  the  head  of  their  ticket ;  he 
was  elected  sheriff  in  1870,  and  removed  to  Balls- 
ton  Spa,  the  county  seat.  On  the  expiration  of  his 
t'-rm  he  removed  to  Saratoga  Springs,  having  re- 
tired from  active  business  pursuits. 

Sheriff  Franklin  Carpenter  (the  present  incum- 
bent) is  the  son  of  the  late  Daniel  B.  Carpenter,  a 
worthy  farmer  of  Corinth,  and  was  born  in  the 
year  1830,  was  educated  in  the  common  schools 
and,  like  many  other  American  youths,  then  for  a 
few  winters  sat  in  the  pedagogue' s  chair  and  en- 
joyed all  the  comforts  of  ' '  boarding  around. ' '  His 
life  pursuits  have  been  farming  and  lumbering. 
TL  at  he  was  highly  esteemed  by  his  fellow  towns- 
men is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  has  served  four 
terms  in  the  board  of  supervisors,  the  tirst  year 
that  he  was  elected  being  1861 ;  [he  was  chosen 
sheriff  in  1863  and  his  term  will  expire  December 
31,  1876.  During  his  term  he  has  resided  in  the 
court  house  and,  after  the  first  year,  has  been  jailor 
in  person. 

The  names  of  the  deceased  incumbents  of  the 
office  of  sheriff  may  be  found  in  the  "Civil  Regis- 
ter," in  the  app^^ndix  of  this  volume. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

ANECDOTES,  INCIDENTS,  ETC. 
THE   OLD  CRIER. 

Those  elderly  citizens  of  the  county  who  attended 
the  courts  in  their  early  years  will  remember  the 
aged  crier.  Major  Ezra  Buel  of  Stillwater.  But  lit- 
tle is  known  of  his  history  beyond  the  fact  that  he 
was  one  of  those  anomalies  of  human  nature — a 
bachelor  without  kith  or  kin.  He  came  to  Bemis 
Heights  before  the  revolution  and  was  thoroughly 
conversant  with  the  held  of  battle,  a  fact  which 
Gen.  Arnold  improved  by  using  him  as  a  scout 
and  by  designating  him  to  guide  Timothy  Murphy 
and  his  squad  of  Morgan's  riflemen  to  the  ambus 
cade  which  resulted  in  the  death  of  the  daring  and 
intrepid  British  Gei .  Frazer.  The  author  remem- 
bers hearing  his  father  tell  of  having  seen  Major 
Buel,  fifty  years  after  the  battle,  designate  the  black 
walnut  tree  which  marked  the  spot  where  Frazer 
fell,  arid  the  ravine  in  which  grew  the  hazel  copse 
from  which  Murphy  fired  his  unerring  rifle  when 
Buel  pointed  out  to  him  the  "  little  man  on  the 
white  horse"  whom  Arnold  said  was  worth  a  whole 
army.  He  afterwards  entered  the  army  for  the  war. 
In  1791,  Judge  John  Thompson  appointed  him  crier 
of  the  county  courts,  which  position  he  held  till  he 
15 


338  THE  BElSrCH  AND   BAR 

became  so  deaf  that  the  court  otficers  performed  his 
duties  and  allowed  hira  to  sit  in  his  chair  and  sleep. 
Finally,  at  the  close  of  the  August  term  of  Common 
Pleas,  1833,  the  aged  veteran  arose  and  tendered 
to  the  judges  his  resignation  of  the  office  he  had 
held  for  forty-two  years,  and  thanked  them  in  a 
very  feeling  speech  for  the  courtesies  they  had 
shown  him  in  his  declining  years.  Judge  George 
Palmer  responded  to  the  aged  vetemn,  tendering 
him  the  thanks,  of  the  court  and  their  good  wishes 
to  attend  him  in  his  declining  years.  The  court 
ordered  that  his  resignation  be  accepted  and  its 
manner  to  be  entered  on  the  minutes.  The  few 
remaining  years  of  his  life  were  comforted  by  a 
pension  from  the  government  for  his  revolutionary 
services. 

JUDGE   KENT  'AISTD   THE   MINERAL   SPRING. 

The  late  Col.  Samuel  Young  used  to  relate  the 
following  anecdote  of  Chief  Justice  Kent.  The 
Judge,  when  holding  courts  in  this  county,  used  to 
have  his  quarters  in  Ballston  Spa,  at  Aldridge's 
hotel  (now  the  residence  of  Henry  A.  Mann),  so  as 
to  be  near  the  old  "iron  spring."  of  the  waters  of 
which  he  was  very  fond,  and  rode  in  a  chaise  to 
and  from  the  court  house.  At  one  tei-m  in  a  cer- 
tain action  then  being  tried  he  near  the  close  of  the 
day's  session  ruled  a  point  of  law,  doubtless  to  his 
own  satisfaction  at  the  time  if  not  to  that  of  the 
discomfited  counsel.  The  next  morning,  however, 
he  was  not  so  sure  of  its  soundness,  for  he  remarked 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  339 

"hear  ye"  of  the  ancient  form  of  opening  courts. 
Sheiiif  Bull  was  the  last  official  to  wear  a  uniform, 
though  the  form  of  escorting  the  judges  to  the 
court  house  was  kept  up  until  about  1825.  This 
Sheriff  Bull  was  a  "  fellow  of  infinite  jest"  and 
enjoyed  a  good  story.  Adonijah  Moody  of  Albany 
was  an  inhabitant  jf  the  "limits"  during  his  term, 
and  court  weeks  he  and  the  sheriff  would  strive  to 
see  who  could  crack  the  strongest  joke,  practical 
or  otherwise. 

VAN  Antwerp's  fi.  fa. 

xVmong  the  attorneys  who  practiced  in  this  coun- 
ty in  early  times  was  Daniel  Van  Antwerp  of  Still- 
water, afterwards  of  Albany.  It  is  said  that  he 
was  a  more  careful  violinist  than  attorney.  Some 
of  his  legal  mistakes  were  ludicrous.  Once  he 
issued  Sijierafacias,  or  execution  as  it  would  now 
be  called,  as  a  first  process  against  a  debtor  against 
whom  he  had  purchased  a  claim.  The  astonished 
debtor,  who  knew  enough  of  the  "law's  delay"  to 
comprehend  that  this  was  not  according  to  the 
approved  practice,  called  at  the  ofRce  of  'Squire 
Van  Antwerp  and  asked  how  it  was  that  the  sheriff 
had  come  to  him  with  a  fi.  fa.,  when  no  writ  had 
ever  been  served  upon  him.  The  lawyer  took  down 
his  register  and  on  looking  it  over  could  find  no 
mention  of  the  matter,  so  he  coolly  said  :  "  Well, 
I  think  there  may  be  a  little  mistake.  At  any  rate, 
if  you  will  pay  the  amount  of  the  bill,  I  will  throw 
ofl  half  my  fees."    The  debtor  settled  ou  that  basis, 


340  THB  BENCH  AWD   BAR 

after  taking  his  seat  on  the  bench  :  "  Yesterday  I 
made  a  ruling  excluding  certain  evidence,  but  I 
found  last  evening  after  going  to  my  hotel,  drink- 
ing some  spring  water  and  taking  a  w^alk,  that  I 
v^^as  in  error,  and  I  now  reverse  that  decision." 
The  old  spring  having  been  re-opened,  this  incident 
is  commended  to  the  advocates  at  the  bar  at  the 
present  day.  When  the  court  makes  a  ruling 
adverse  to  them  they  should  invite  the  judge  to 
walk  down  to  the  spring  and  imbibe  its  waters.  It 
may  yet  have  the  virtues  that  it  possessed  in  the 
days  of  Judge  Kent. 

SHERIFFS   IlSr   THE   OLDEN   TIME. 

In  the  olden  time  it  was  customary  for  the  sheriff 
and  his  deputi^-s  to  wear  a  uniform  while  attending 
court.  The  sheriff  as  marshall  wore  a  sword. 
When  the  hour  for  opening  court  arrived,  the 
sheriff  and  deputies  would  proceed  to  the  hotel 
where  the  presiding  judge  was  a  guest  and  escort 
him  to  the  court  house.  Ex-sheriff  Langworthy 
informs  me  that  in  his  youth  he  remembers  seeing 
sheriff  Daniel  Bull  and  his  posse  escort  Judge 
Kent  to  his  seat  in  the  old  court  house.  As  the 
cortege  approached  the  door  it  was  iiung  open  by 
Major  Buel,  who  announced  "Their  Honors,  the 
Judges,"  The  line  steadily  marched  up  the  aisle 
to  the  bcmch  when  the  sheriff  called  out  "hats  off," 
and,  saluting  the  judges  with  his  drawn  sword, 
stepped  aside  to  allow  them  to  pass  to  their  seats, 
when  the  sonorous  voice  of  the  crier  rang  out  the 


OP  8AEATOGA  OOUNTT.  841 

and  it  was  probably  the  only  suit  that  was  carried 
to  a  successful  termination  with  such  an  irregular 
beginning. 

JUDGE   cook's   withdrawal   FROM   THE  BAR. 

In  the  early  days  of  our  judicature  it  was  a  'com- 
mon practice  for  attorneys  to  purchase  claims  and 
then  prosecute  them.  This  grew  to  be  such  an  evil 
that  in  1818,  the  legislature  adopted  a  regulation, 
since  incorporated  in  the  Revised  Statutes,  prohib- 
iting attorneys  from  holding  a  pecuniary  interest  in 
any  action  which  did  not  accrue  to  them  on  its  in- 
ception. Judge  Samuel  Cook,  who  then  transacted 
the  triple  business  of  attorney,  banker  and  broker, 
deemed  this  an  invasion  of  his  constitutional  rights, 
and  in  that  year  appeared  in  the  several  courts  of 
the  county  and  the  Supreme  Court  and  had  his 
name  stricken  from  the  roll  of  attorneys  on  his  own 
petition.  Judge  Cowen  says  that  it  was  an  unpre- 
cedented instance. 

THE  CHANCELLOR  AT  PINE  GROVE. 

Chancellor  Walworth  was  wont  to  hold  his  court 
at  "  Pine  Grove,"  for.  like  the  gate  of  death,  it  was 
always  open  for  the  transaction  of  business.  It 
was  a  great  convenience  to  himself  and  to  the  bar 
generally,  for  they  could  thus  combine  business 
with  pleasure,  as  did  the  senate  in  1872,  when  it 
adjourned  to  meet  as  a  Court  of  Impeachment  to 
try  Justice  Greorge  G.  Barnard,  from  the  capitol^in 
Albany  to  the  town  hall,  Saratoga  Springs.     Here 


342  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

at  one  time,  in  a  case  involving  some  Illinois  state 
bonds,  William  Kent  and  George  GrrifSn  were 
matched  against  Daniel  Webster.  It  drew  such  a 
crowd  that  the  Chancellor  was  forced  to  adjourn  to 
the  Universalist  church.  "  This  cause  will  not  end 
here,"  said  Grifiiin,  tragically,  "we  shall  meet 
again  at  Phillippi."  "Aye,"  replied  the  Jupiter 
Tonans  of  Massachusetts,  while  a  broad  smile  of 
grim  humor  spread  over  his  massive  countenance, 
"the  learned  counselor  will  meet  us  again  at  Phil- 
lippi, but  will  he  pay  us  our  dues  when  we  get 
there?" 

Walworth's  temperance  principles. 

Chancellor  Walworth  was  as  much  noted  for  his 

total  abstinence  principles  as  was (another 

distinguished  New  York  statesman),  for  his  fondness 
for  eau  de  me.  Gov.  Seward  atone  time  astonished 
a  company  by  asserting  that  Chancellor  Walworth 

and drank  more  brandy  and  water  than  any 

other  two  men  in  the  state.  The  expressions  of 
incredulity  were  modified  when  he  explained  that 
the  chancellor  drank  all  of  the  water 

ADMISSION   TO   THE   COURT   OF   CHANCERY. 

In  the  later  years  of  the  Court  of  Chancery  its 
strict  discipline  was  somewhat  relaxed,  and  appli- 
cants for  admission  to  its  bar  found  but  few  thorns 
planted  in  their  path.  The  following  is  said  to  have 
been  the  form  of  examination  of  prospective  solic- 
itors pursued  by  master  in  chancery  William  L. 


OF  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  343 

Avery,  "Yon  would  commence  a  proceeding  in 
chancery  by  filing  a  bill,  wouldn't  you  ?"  Getting 
the  affirmative  answer,  and  the  stated  fee,  he  would 
sign  the  necessary  certificate  and  send  the  applicant 
to  the  clerk.  If  there  are  any  attorneys  in  practice 
in  this  county  who  came  in  through  the  door  of  the 
chancellor's  court  in  the  early  part  of  1847,  they 
can  tell  if  I  have  been  informed  correctly  of  the 
above  mode  of  examination. 

cowen's  retentive  memory. 

In  the  life  sketch  of  Judge  Co  wen  I  mentioned 
his  great  powers  as  a  listener.  William  L.  Stone, 
the  younger,  relates  an  instance  illustrating  this. 
The  eminent  lawyer  Samuel  Stevens  was  once 
engaged  in  arguing  a  case  involving  important 
principles  of  law  before  him.  He  particularly 
wished  to  catch  md  engage  the  judge's  attention, 
who  commenced  writing  and  was  se^-mingly  much 
engaged  in  his  occupation.  This  piqued  Mr. 
Stevens,  and  he  became  so  worried  that  he  mixed 
matters  and  was  becoming  badly  confused.  Sud- 
denly Judge  Co  wen  interrupted  him  with  :  "Mr. 
Stevens,  you  have  several  times  in  your  argument 
referred  to  the  eighth  section  of  the  act  to  prevent 
usury,  as  providing  that  all  and  every  person  sued 
for  the  same,  shall  be  compelled  to  answer  on  oath 
to  any  bill  preferred  for  discovering  money  taken 
usuriously.  I  do  not  understand  the  eighth  section 
that  way.  Does  the  learned  counsel  so  understand 
it  ?"   "  Certainly,  I  do. "   "  Are  you  not  mistaken  V ' 


344  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

"I  do  not  think  I  am,  your  Honor,"  said  Stevens, 
"  but  I  will  see."  Turning  to  the  book  of  statutes 
he  saw  that  he  meant  the  fourth  section.  "  Pro- 
ceed," said  the  Judge,  "I  do  not  wish  to  inter- 
rupt you."  Stevens  said  afterwards  that  Judge 
Cowen'  s  interruption  settled  two  facts  in  his  mind  : 
that  the  judge,  with  his  seeming  indifference,  heard 
every  thing  that  was  said  ;  and,  that  he  was  getting 
confounded  by  the  court' s  apparent  indifference  to 
his  argument. 

cowen' S   COURT  HABITS. 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  Judge  Cowen' s  mode 
of  drming  business  in  his  court.  Major  James  R. 
Craig  of  Schenectady,  relates  the  following  incident 
that  occurred  in  his  boyhood.  His  father  had  been 
sued  by  a  plaintiff  who  resided  at  Burnt  Hills  and 
the  cause  was  tried  at  Ballston,  before  Judge 
Cowen.  Young  Craig  was  called  as  a  witness  one 
evening  About  midnight,  after  he  had  been  ex- 
amined at  length,  a  discussion  arose  as  to  the 
admissibility  of  the  evidence.  The  witness  fell 
asleep  in  the  chair.  How  long  the  discussion  was 
"  spun  out"  he  did  not  know,  but  he  was  suddenly 
awakened  by  Judge  Cowen' s  saying:  "You  can 
answer  the  question."  Rubbing  his  eyes  the  boy 
exclaimed  :  "  what  question  do  you  mean,  judge  ? 
I  have  been  asleep."  His  examination  continued 
until  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  he  was 
allowed  to  grope  his  way  to  the  Sans  Souci  hotel. 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  345 

How  much  longer  the  court  remained  in  session 
that  night  he  does  not  know. 

gossips'  tales  not  slander. 

A  case  was  tried  in  the  Saratoga  Circuit  in  1813 
which  curiously  illustrates  the  doctrine  of  respon- 
sibility for  the  circulation  of  slanderous  stories. 
There  then  resided  in  the  town  of  Ballston  two 
farmers  wl.  o  were  neighbors.  One  was  a  deacon  of 
his  church,  possessed  of  all  the  virtues  ascribed  to 
the  worthy  holder  of  that  office  in  the  Christian 
church,  by  St.  Paul.  The  other  often  got  into  that 
mellow  state  ascribed  in  Holy  Writ  to  Noah  shortly 
after  he  had  planted  a  vineyard.  For  our  purposes, 
we  will  call  them  Deacon  Amos  Larkin  and  John 
Gibson..  The  latter  was  one  day  returning  home 
from  Burnt  Hills  in  a  little  worse  state  than  Burn's 
hero  when  he  witnessed  the  witches  dance  in  "Auld 
Alio  way's  haunted  kirk."  A  Gal  way  farmer, 
whom  we  will  call  Martin  Sleazer,  drove  past  him 
and  asked  him  to  ride.  He  got  into  the  wagon  and 
in  reply  to  Sleazer' s  question  told  him  he  was 
Deacon  Larkin.  A  few  weeks  afterwards  Sleazer 
was  in  a  company  where  the  godly  virtues  of 
Deacon  Larkin  were  extolled.  He  replied  that  he 
guessed  Deacon  Larkin  was  much  the  same  as  most 
men,  for  he  had  seen  him  drunk  on  the  highway. 
Of  course,  this  hew  on  the  wings  of  the  wind. 
Deacon  Larkin  soon  found  himself  called  before 
the  church  to  explain  how  he  had  "fallen  from 
grace."     He  demanded  to  see  his  accuser.    Sleazer 


346  THE  BENCH    AND   BAR 

was  brought  before  him  and  saw  that  the  Deacon 
was  not  the  man  he  liad  taken  him  for,  by  any 
manner  of  means.  From  his  description  of  liis  way- 
side passenger,  John  Gribson  was  recognized  as  the 
source  of  mischief.  Deacon  Larkin  then  com- 
menced an  action  against  Gribson  for  defaming  his 
Christian  char.icter  by  reporting  him  to  be  a  com- 
mon street  drunkard.  Gibson  replied  to  the  effect 
tliat  '''■lie  had  never  said  that  the  Deacon  got  drunk." 
Tlie  cause  was  brouglit  to  trial  before  Judge  Am- 
brose Spencer.  It  was  tried  for  the  plaintiff  by 
James  Emott,  and  it  was  his  last  appearance  in  our 
courts.  Samuel  Young  appeared  for  the  defend- 
ant against  his  old  preceptor.  After  .hearing  the 
plaintiff's  evidence  Judge  Spencer  gi-anted  a  motion 
for  a  nonsuit,  holding  that  it  was  not  slander  for 
Gibson,  in  his  reply  to  Sleazer's  impertinent  ques- 
tions, to  give  him  a  fictitious  answer  regarding  his 
identity.  And,  if  the  Deacon  has  sustained  any 
damage,  it  was  from  the  tongues  of  Sleazerand  the 
gossips  who  had  repeated  his  story. 

JUDGE  HAND  AND  THE  DEAF  JUROK. 

Hon.  Augustus  C.  Hand,  one  of  the  first  justices 
of  the  Supreme  Court  for  the  fourth  judicial  dis- 
trict was  noted  for  his  prolix  charges  to  grand 
juries,  never  failing  to  remind  them  of  the  rights  of 
citizens  under  the  constitution,  and  dwelling  at 
length  on  the  sundry  statute  offenses  which  would, 
or  should  be,  laid  before  their  grand  inquest.  At 
one  of  hia  courts  in  this  county  among  the   petit 


OP  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  347 

jurors  drawn  for  the  term  was  Simon  Vissclier,  an 
honest  Dutch  farmer  of  Halfmoon.  Hh  had  the 
misfortune  to  be  quite  deaf  and,  on  the  calling  of 
petit  jur}^  on  the  first  day  of  the  term,  he  stepped 
up  to  the  bench  and  asked  to  be  excused  on  account 
of  liis  inlirmit}^  "So  you  are  quite  deaf,"  queried 
His  Honor,  "  could  a'ou  not  hear  my  charge  to  the 
grand  jury,  just  now f  "Y-a-a-s,  I  heard  it," 
falteringly  replied  Visscher,  "but  I  couldn't  make 
any  sense  on't."  He  was  excused  amid  the  sup- 
pressed laughter  of  the  bar,  some  of  whom  thought 
that  even  a  physically  sound  man  would  have  been 
puzzled  to  do  so. 

THE  ONE  SOUND  MINDED  JUKOR. 

At  another  term  Judge  Hand  was  perplexed  to 
discern  why  a  jury,  to  whom  a  very  plain  question 
of  fact  had  been  submitted,  could  not  agree.  As 
he  was  walking  down  to  the  hotel  after  adiourn- 
ment,  he  was  joined  by  the  late  John  Edwards,  who 
was  foreman  of  the  jury.  '*  How  is  it,"  asked  the 
judge,  "  that  you  twelve  men  could  disagree  on  so 
plain  a  statement  of  facts?"  "  The  fact  is,"  re- 
plied the  foreman,  ''the  evidence  was  all  clear 
enough,  but  your  charge  so  confused  the  other 
eleven,  that  theyj^ere  the  most  contrary  lot  of  fel- 
lows I  ever  had  to  aeal  with." 

NOT   A   CLASSICAL   JUDGE. 

One  of  the  judges  who  formerly  presided  on  our 
bench  was  noted  for  his  utter  abhorrence  of  the 


348  THE  BENCH  AND   BAB. 

quotations  of  Latin  maxims.  Judge  Rosekrans 
once,  in  a  trial  before  him,  quoted  :  "  De  minimis 
non  curat  lex. ' '  Tlie  court  im  mediately  respond  ed  : 
"  That  was  good  enough  law  once  ;  but  the  statute 
has  overruled  it." 

JUDGE  CRANE  AND  THE  IMPEACHING  WITNESS. 

Hon.  John  W.  Crane  once  illustrated  his  posses- 
sion of  a  ready  wit  by  the  following  expedient,  with 
which  he  broke  down  an  impeaching  witness.  In 
an  important  cause  one  of  his  witnesses  was  sought 
to  be  impeached  by  his  opponent.  Among  the 
witnesses  called  was  one  who  testified  strongly  to 
the  bad  character  borne  by  the  witness  in  the  neigh- 
borhood in  which  they  both  lived.  Judge  Crane 
was  informed  by  a  spectator  that  this  witness  him- 
self had  been  impeached  in  a  Massachusetts  court. 
The  following  colloquy  then  ensued  :  "You  say 
that  where  three  or  four  men  living  in  a  neighbor- 
hood say  in  your  presence  that  another  neighbor  is 
liar,  you  would  not  believe  him  yourself,  even  if 
he  was  under  oath  1"  "Yes  sir."  "You  would 
believe  no  man  whom  his  neighbors  say  is  untruth- 
ful, when  no  one  says  he  is  truthful  ?"  "No  sir,  I 
wouldn't."  "  Were  you  ever  in  court  at  Worces- 
ter, Massachusetts,?"  "  Yes,  (faintly.)  "Was 
your  reputation  at  that  time  called  in  question  ?" 
The  witness  declined  to  to  answer  but  was  directed 
to  do  so  by  the  court.  "  Yes."  "  Did  not  three 
of  your  neighbors  then  and  there  swear  that  they 
would  not  believe  you  under  oath  ?"     "They  did." 


OF  SARATOGA  COUlfTY.  349 

"Did  any  one  testify  at  the  time  that  they  would  ?" 
"No."      "One   more    question,    sir,    would    you 
believe  yourself  under  oath?"     Judge  Crane  did 
not  press  the  question,  and  the,  at  tirst  eager  wit 
ness  "  stepped  down  and  out,"  wishing  with  Burns: 

"  O  wad  the  Power  some  giftie  gie  us, 
To  see  oursels  as  ilhers  see  us." 

FATHER- li^-L AW,    OR    BROTHER-IN-LAW. 

At  one  of  the  first  terms  held  by  Judge  Willard 
under  the  new  constitution  there  was  tried  an  action 
between  Stephen  Deuel  and  Matthew  Miller.  -  The 
res  gestcB  was  a  contract  about  the  working  of  some 
real  estate  of  Deuel's  by  Miller  to  which  one  Aaron 
Dillingham  was  a  witness  :  On  the  trial,  the  wit- 
ness in  speaking  of  the  plaintiff  alluded  to  him  at 
times  as  his  father-in-law,  and  again  as  his  brother- 
in-law.  Judge  Willard,  who  was  jjarticular  that  a 
jury  should  thoroughly  understand  everything  in 
the  nature  of  evidence,  interrupted  Dillingham  and 
asked  him  to  explain  the  apparent  discrepancy. 
"You  see,"  replied  the  witness,  coolly,  "Deuel 
had  a  daughter,  aud,  in  the  order  of  nature  and 
events,  I  courted  and  married  her.  That  made  him 
my  father  in  law.  Next,  you  see,  as  he  was  a  wid- 
ower and  I  had  an  old  maid  sister,  they  joined 
forces  and  got  married.  That  made  him  my  brother- 
in-law,  and  you  must  excuse  me,  judge,  if  I  do  get 
a  little  mixed  about  it."  The  explanation  convulsed 
the  bar  and  spectators  by  the  droll  manner  in  which 
16* 


350  THE  BENCH  AND   BAR 

it  was  told,  and  the  witness  proceeded  with  his 
evidence. 

TOO   WIDE   A   MARailSr. 

At  a  General  'I'erm  held  in  our  conrt  house,  Wil- 
liam Hay  and  E.  H.  Rosekrans  were  the  opposing 
counsel  who  were  to  argue  a  certain  case  on  the 
calendar.  Contrary  to  the  usual  custom,  Mr.  Rose- 
krans began  his  argument  for  the  appellant  without 
handing  a  printed  copy  of  his  "points"  to  Judge 
Hay.  The  latter  touched  the  former' s  elbow  and 
whispered,  "  Rosey  where' s  your  points?"  Get- 
ting no  "points"  or  reply,  he  again  said,  "Mr. 
Rosekrans  haven't  you  forgotten  to  give  me  your 
points  ?"  Still  no  reply.  "  Rosey  where  are  your 
points,"  again  urged  the  pertinacious  Ha}^  in  a  loud 
whisper.  "They  are  here^  sir.  Judge  Hay,"  res 
ponded  Rosekrans  in  a  melodramatic  tone,  point- 
ing to  his  forehead.  "The  margin  is  a  d — d  sight 
wider  than  the  law  rf^quires,"  retorted  Judge  Hay 
in  a  deep  undertone. 

HOMOeOPATIirC    BHAIN8. 

Rufus  W.  Peckham,  the  younger  of  Albany, 
who  occasionall  visits  our  court  room,  is  noted  for 
the  earnest  manner  in  which  he  talks  through  a 
jury.  Some  of  his  similes  and  Jigures  border  on 
the  verge  which  separates  tlu^  sublime  from  the 
ridiculous.  For  instance,  in  a  certain  criminal  trial 
in  our  Court  of  Sessions  two  of  the  most  important 
witnesses  against  his  client  were  allopathic  physi- 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  351 

cians.  The  force  of  their  testimony,  he  felt,  must 
be  broken  by  a  rude  shock,  or  his  case  was  hope- 
less. In  his  address  to  the  jury  he  alluded  to  them 
as  "two  conceited  young  men  whom  an  inscrutable 
Providence  had  suffered  to  torment  men  before  their 
time  with  allopathic  doses  of  medicine ;  and,  at 
the  same  time,  had  dealt  tliem  out  Iwmwopathlc 
doses  of  brains." 

A    LACONIC    EPISTLE. 

Hon.  E.  H.  Rosekrans,  when  he  sat  on  the  bench, 
was  supremely  indifferent  as  to  what  might  be  the 
feelings  of  disappointed  suitors  who  came  before 
his  court.  If  they  felt  aggrieved  he  was  perfectly 
willing  to  have  them  get  redress  in  the  courts  above, 
if  they  could  show  that  he  was  in  error.  Perhaps 
no  other  judge  in  our  state  paid  less  attention  to 
what  might  be  the  result  of  an  appeal.  He  decided 
the  law  as  he  understood  it.  To  a  disappointed 
suitor  who  wrote  him  asking  what  he  was  to  do 
now,  he  returned  the  following  laconic  epistle  : 

"Glen's  Falls ,  186-. 

Dear  Sir : — Your  note  received.  You  have  two  remedies.  First, 
an  appeal;  which  is  an  expensive  undertaking.  Second,  d — n  the 
judge;  wliich  costs  but  little  and  gives  immediate  relief. 

Yours,  &c.  Rosekrans." 

JUDGE  HAY  AND  THE  DAM  SUIT. 

Allusion  has  been  made  in  these  pages  to  the 
great  Fort  Miller  state  dam  case  and  the  part  taken 
therein  by  Judge  Hay.    No  man  enjoyed  a  joke  ov 


352  THE  BENCH   AlCD   BAR 

a  pun  better  than  he,  and  his  2:)ractice  was  brilliant 
\y  illustrated  by  his  eiforts  in  the  humorous  vein. 
But  it  annoyed  him  greatly  to  have  a  wrong  con- 
struction placed  on  his  language.  On  the  occasion 
alluded  to,  he  began  his  closing  address  with  these 
words  :  "  May  it  please  the  court,  and  you,  gentle- 
men of  the  jury  ;  I  congratulate  you  that  after  days 
of  patient  toil  this  dam  suit  is  about  concluded." 
The  chance  adjective,  properly  used  in  this  connec- 
tion, was  taken  in  the  profane  acceptance  by  the 
bar,  and  the  result  was  that  Judge  Hay  was  so  con 
fused  that  it  was  some  moments  before  he  could 
gather  the  threads  of  his  argument. 

JUSTICE   .JAMES   AND   THE   IRISHMAlSr. 

Among  the  judges  of  this  district  who  have  pre- 
sided in  our  courts  none  will  be  remembered  with 
a  higher  feeling  of  respect  and  reverence  than  Hon. 
A.  B.  James  of  Ogdensburgh.  At  one  of  his  terms, 
held  shortly  after  his  accession  to  the  bench,  a  son 
of  the  Emerald  Isle  was  arraigned  before  him 
charged  with  selling  ardent  spirits  contrary  to  the 
"■  pr  jhibition  "  statute  of  1855.  He  plead  guilty; 
and,  in  response  to  the  question  of  "  what  do  you 
have  to  say  why  the  sentence  of  the  law  should  not 
be  pronounced  upon  you,"  replied  :  "Yer  Honor, 
I  intinded  to  obey  the  law.  Whin  it  wint  into 
effect  I  had  jist  a  half  barrel  of  whiskey  in  my 
sthore.  I  wheeled  it  behint  the  cellar  door,  and 
jist  lift  it  there.  And,  ye  see,  yer  Honor,  when 
my  frinds  came  in  of  avenin'  to  have  a  bit  of  a  talk, 


OP  SARATOGA  OOTTNTT.  353 

they'd  jist  help  themselves  unbeknownst  to  me, 
and  thin  lave  their  money  on  the  counter.  Thin 
I  put  the  money  in  the  drawer  yer  Honor,  for  yer 
Honor  wouldn't  have  me  waste  it,  I  know  ye 
wouldn't."  "I  see  Michael"  said  Judge  Jiimes, 
''  you  stand  sorely  in  need  of  protection  from  your 
friends,  or  they  will  ruin  you.  I  will  order  that 
you  be  kept  in  the  county  jail  for  two  months,  and 
the  sheriff  will  see  that  they  do  not  plague  you 
there.  When  you  get  out  if  they  do  not  keep 
away  from  you  just  come  and  tell  me,  when  I  come 
here  again,  and  I  will  see  that  they  let  you  alone 
for  one  year," 

MORRIS   ENGLISH   ON   THE   CIDER   QUESTION. 

At  another  term,  one  Timothy  Crowley  had  been 
complained  of  for  selling  liquor  without  license  at 
East  Line.  One  of  his  steady  customers  was  the 
late  Morris  English  of  Ballston.  The  latter  was 
summoned  before  the  grand  jury  to  furnish  evi- 
denence  against  his  friend  Crowley.  It  went  against 
the  grain,  however,  and  he  refused  to  tell  whether 
he  had  ever  drank  any  whiskey,  etc.,  in  Crowley's 
placQ.  The  district  attorney  sent  him]before  Judge 
Potter,  to  be  dealt  with  for  contumacy.  "Certainly 
a  man  of  your  apparent  intelligence,.  Mr.  English," 
said  the  judge  gravely,  "ought  to  be  able  to  tell 
whether  he  ever  drank  any  rum,  whiskey,  gin  or 
spirits  in  a  certain  place."  "Howld  a  bit  yer 
Honor,"  replied  Morris,  with  a  twinkle  of  his  black 
eyes,  "ef  yer  Honor  and  meself  were  to  squaze  the 


354  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

Juice  of  a  peck  of  apples  into  a  pitcher,  I  would 
know  thin  we  had  cider.  But,  if  yer  Honor  squazed 
thim  by  yerself,  how  the  divil  would  I  be  knowin' 
what  ye  had  put  into  the  pitcher."  This  attempt 
to  convince  the  court  that  the  average  toper  could 
not  tell  the  nature  of  his  potations  cost  Morris  his 
personal  liberty  for  two  days,  while  confined  on  an 
order  for  contempt  of  court. 

TAYLER  lewis'  LOVE  FOR  HIS  OLD  SCHOOL  HOME. 

Allusion  was  made  in  chapter  12,  to  the  fact  that 
Prof.  Tayler  Lewis  of  Union  college,  was  in  his 
early  manhood  an  active  member  of  our  county 
bar.  He  was  a  son  of  Captain  Samuel  Lewis,  a 
revolutionary  veteran,  who  settled  in  the  town  of 
Northumberland.  He  was  named  in  honor  of  Gov. 
John  Tayler,  and  is  very  strenuous  that  the  right 
orthography  of  his  Christian  name  should  be  used. 
The  following  beautiful  trait  of  him  was  told  the 
author  by  one  of  the  venerable  professor' s  warmest 
friends.  He  makes  it  a  matter  of  duty  to  visit  Fort 
Miller  once  a  year,  and  to  carry  with  him  a  copy 
of  the  old  spelling  book  from  which  he  learned  to 
read.  Said  he  to  this  friend  :  "  I  go  over  to  the 
site  of  the  old  school  house  and  sit  down  where  the 
front  seat  used  to  be  placed.  I  then  open  my  spell- 
ing book  and  get  up  and  commence  to  read  :  '  No- 
man- may-put-oft-the-law-of- God.'  "  It  is  this  rev- 
erence for  the  early  associations  of  youth  that  has 
preserved  the  cheerful  temper  of  the  veteran  scholar 
while  suffering  from  the  almost  total  loss  of  hear- 


OF  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  366 

ing,  but  which  deprivation  has  not  impaired  his 
usefulness  as  an  instructor  or  author  While  sea- 
sons roll  with  continued  sunrise  and  sunset,  Christ- 
ians will  bless  the  name  of  the  author  of  tlie  ''Six 
days  of  the  Creation,"  as  that  of  the  scholar  who 
interposed  an  impassable  barrier  to  the  inroads  of 
inlidel  materialistics  on  the  authenticity  and  con- 
sistency of  the  Mosaic  cosmogony.  He  is  a  brother 
of  the  late  Gen.  Samuel  Lewisof  ISorthumberland, 
who  was  better  known  to  the  citizens  of  this  county 
than  tlie  distinguished  professor,  by  reason  of  his 
long  and  useful  citizenship  in  our  midst. 

A  defendant's  opinion  of  judge  cady. 

The  last  Circuit  held  by  Daniel  Cady  in  our 
county  was  that  of  February,  1854.  He  was  then 
upwards  of  eighty  years  of  age.  Among  the  suits 
trien  at  that  term  was  that  brought  by  Ezekiel  C. 
Little  against  Samuel  A.  House  and  Alexander  C. 
Morrison.  The  res  gestce  of  this  action  was  some- 
what similar  to  that  of  Fullerton  against  Viall  et 
al.,  ante.,  and  was  brought  by  Little,  as  a  judg- 
ment creditor  of  the  defunct  foundry  lirm  of  Viall, 
House  &  Mann  of  Mechanicville,  to  set  aside,  as 
fraudiilent,  a  mortgage  given  by  House  to  his 
brother-in-law,  Morrison,  on  his  residence  and  real 
estate  in  Mechanicville.  The  mortgage  claim  as 
testified  by  Morrison  arose  from  the  sale  of  fast 
horses  and  other  flash  property  by  him  to  House, 
and  the  mortgage  was  given  as  security  for  pay- 
ment.   The  testimony  was  overwhelming  in  show- 


856  THE  BENCH  AlH)  BAB 

ing  the  fraudulent  nature  of  the  mortgage,  and  that 
it  was  given  to  attempt  to  secure  the  property  from 
the  creditors  of  the  firm.  Judge  Cady  was  very 
severe  upon  House  and  Morrison  in  his  charge  to 
the  jury. .  As  he  was  dealing  out  in  unstinted  terras 
his  cool,  logical  deductions  drawn  from  the  testi- 
mony, Morrison  beckoned  to  his  counsel,  Hon.  A. 
B.  Olin,  to  come  out  in  the  corridor.  As  the  latter 
joined  him,  Morrison  asked  in  a  loud  whisper : 
"Don't  you  think  the  o'd  judge  has  outlived  his 
usefulness  V '  The  jury  thought  otherwise,and  Gen. 
•Bullard  had  the  satisfaction  of  recovering  a  portion 
of  his  clients  money  from  House' s  estate. 

A   FRAUD   IlSr   LAW   IS   A   FRAUD   IN   FACT. 

Until  a  recent  decision  of  our  Court  of  Appeals  it 
was  a  mooted  question  both  in  English  and  Ameri- 
can courtswhether  a  fraud  in  law  would  vitiate  a  sale 
the  same  as  a  fraud  in  fact.  The  case  in  question 
being  unparalleled  on  either  side  of  the  water  in  the 
annals  of  Anglo-Saxon  jurisprudence,  it  deserves 
notice  in  the  history  of  the  bench  and  bar  whence 
it  emanated.  In  1850,  Calvin  Bake  of  Fort  Edward 
was  indebted  toWilson  &  Grimwood,  merchants,  of 
Albany,  to  an  amount  exceeding  $600,  and  wa 
then  insolvent.  To  secure  their  payment,  he  pro- 
cured his  brother,  Ansel  Durkee,  to  assign  a  mort- 
gage of  $600  which  the  latter  held  on  his  property. 
Ai  sel  had  no  other  property,  and  was  a  judgment 
debtor  of  Conrad  Cramer  of  Northumberland  in  the 
sum  of  $58.     Under  proceedings  sup])lementary  to 


OF   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  357 

execution,  William  T.  Seymour  was  appointed 
receiver  of  Ansel's  estate,  and  he  demanded  that 
Wilson  &  Grimwood  should  pay  the  amount  of 
Cramer' s  debt  from  the  proceeds  of  the  mortgage  ; 
which  they  refused  to  do.  Seymour  then  brought 
suit  in  the  Supreme  Court  to  recover.  It  was  re- 
ferred to  and  tried  before  Hon.  George  G.  Scott, 
who  gave  judgment  for  the  plaintiff;  holding  that 
a  transfer  b}^  a  party  of  all  his  property,  leaving 
his  just  debts  unpaid,  was  a  fraud  in  law,  even  if 
the  assignor  did  not  actually  intend  to  commit  a 
fraud  in  fact.  On  a  motion  at  General  Term  for  a 
'  newtrial,on  the  first  argument  the  court  was  equally 
divided.  It  was  again  argued  when  Judge  Willard 
was  absent,  and  Judges  Hand  and  Cady  (Hand  writ- 
ing the  opinion)  decided  against  the  plaintiff  on  the 
merits,  holding  that  a  receiver  could  not  attack  a 
transfer  for  fraud.  This  opinion  may  be  found  in 
16  Barbour.  The  case  was  retried  before  Judge 
Scott  and,  in  the  meantime  the  Court  of  Appeals 
having  held  that  a  receiver  could  attack  a  transfer 
for  fraud,  he  again  found  for  the  plaintiff.  This 
judgment  was  affirmed  at  General  Term,  but  the 
Court  of  Appeals  sent  it  back  for  a  new  trial.  Judge 
Mitchell  wrote  an  opinion  which  concurred|with  that 
of  Justice  Hand.  It  was  then  referred  to  Chancellor 
Walworth  and  tried  before  him.  Under  the  opinion 
of  Judge  Mitchell  (supposing  it  was  that  of  a  major- 
ity of  the  court)  he  found  against  the  plaintiff,  but 
stated  it  to  be  against  his  own  judgrne.it.  It  was 
now  the  plaintiff's  turn  to  appeal,  and  the  General 


358  THE  BENCH   AND   BAR 

Term  sided  against  Mm     About  this  time  the  opin- 
ion of  the  majority  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  was 
published.     (See  4  Kernan  567.)    It  was  written 
by  .Judge  Denio.     It  now  appeared  that  the  court 
had  granted  a  new  trial  not  on  the  merits,  but  be- 
cause a  certain  question  was  excluded.     On  the 
second  argument  before  the  Court  of  Appeals,  that 
tribunal  decided  the  merits  in  ftivor  of  the  plaintiff 
and  settled  the  law  that  a  transfer  may  be  fraudu- 
lent in  law,  even  if  no  wrong  is  intended.     (See  19 
Neio  York  417.)   The  case  was  now  tried  the  fourth 
time  before  Judge  Bockes,  who  gave  judgment  for 
the  plaintiff.     The  defendants  then  took  the  case 
again  to  the  General  Term  and  Court  of  Appeals 
on  purely  technical  grounds,  and  final  judgment 
was  awarded  to  the  plaintiff.     It  thus  had  four 
trials  in  the  lower  court,  five  arguments  at  General 
Term  and  three  hearings  in  the  Court  of  Appeals. 
The  defendants  were  represented  at  first  by  Halsey 
R.  Wing  of  Glen's  Falls,  then  by  Judge  Rosekrans, 
next  by  Nicholas  Hill,  jr.,  and  finally  by  William 
L.  Learned  of  Albany,  now  presiding  justice  of  the 
third  department.     General  Bullard  managed  the 
plaintiff' s  case  throughout.    It  was  a  great  triumph 
for  him.     Indeed,  a  prominent  jurist  said  :   "Bal- 
lard has  settled  more  points  of  law  than  any  other 
man  at  the  bar  of  this  state."     It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  the  amount  involved  in  the  action  was 
$58.   The  taxable  costs,  alone,  which  the  defendant 
paid,  amounted  to  $1,200.     The  total  expenses  of 
both  parties  must  have  exceeded  $2,500. 


OF  SARATOOA  COUNTY.  359 

WHERE  DID   THE  WITNESS   GO   TO? 

At  one  of  the  Circuits  held  since  the  adoption  of 
the  constitution  of  1846,  in  one  of  the  numerous 
actions  where  the  locus  inquo  of  a  boundary  line  was 
the  difficult  kernel  to  extract  from  the  legal  nut,  the 
plaintiff  was  called  as  a  witness  in  his  own  behalf, 
and  near  tie  close  of  his  testimony  the  following 
colloquy  occurred  : 

Counsel  for  plaint  iff  ~''''T)\di  you  notify  the  de- 
fendant of  the  day  when  the  survey  was  to  be 
made?" 

Witness— ''Yen:' 

Counsel  for  plaintiff^'' ^Y7\i2it  did  he  say  in 
reply?" 

Witness — He  told  me  to  go  to  the  d 1." 

Judge  (interrupting) — "  Did  you  go  ?" 
Witness — "  I  am  here,  your  Honor." 
Judge  (sharply) — "Call  the  next  witness." 

MITCHELL   SANFORD's   POETIC   FIGURE   OF  SPEECH. 

The  suit  of  Abba  M.  Stewart  against  the  Sara- 
toga &  Washington  railroad  company  which  was 
tried  at  the  May  Circuit,  1857,  before  Justice  Rose- 
krans  attracted  much  attention  at  the  time.  The 
plaintiff,  i  daughter  of  Gen.  John  Stewart  of  Wat- 
erford,  was  injured  seriously  by  an  accident  on 
the  defendant's  road,  near  Ganzevoort.  She  was 
noted  for  her  great  personal  beauty  previous  to  the 
accident,  and  was  married  to  Mr.  Benjamin  C. 
Brown  before  the  trial  of  the  action.  The  plain- 
tiff's  attorneys  were  T.  C.  Ormsby  and  Gen.   Bui- 


360  THB  BENCH  AKD  BAB. 

lard,  with  Hon.  John  Cramer  of  Waterford,  and 
Mitchell  Sanford  of  Hudson,  associated  with  them. 
Charles  S.  Lester,  William  A.  Beach  and  Judge 
John  Willard  appeared  for  the  luilroad.  San- 
ford's  address  to  the  jury  carried  them  completely 
with  him.  Allowing  to  the  plaintiff  before  the 
accident  he  indulged  in  the  following  flight :  "  Man 
never  chiseled  in  marble  such  a  perfect  form  as 
God  Almighty  made  in  hers."  The  jury  reduced 
this  poetic  thought  to  the  rude  prose  of  a  verdict 
for  the  plaintiff  for  $4,000  and  costs  of  the  action. 

varney's  dog  suit. 

In  an  action  brought  by  a  plaintiff  to  recover  the 
value  of  a  dog  alleged  to  have  been  poisoned  by  the 
defendant.  Counselor  Lewis  Varney  submitted 
the  following  points  on  a  motion  for  a  nonsuit, 
after  the  plaintiff's  evidence  had  been  received: 
"  First,  it  appears  that  the  plaintiff  had  given  the 
dog  away  and  was  not  its  owner,  and  therefore  is 
not  entitled  to  recover.  Second,  the  value  of  the 
property  has  not  been  proved.  Third,  no  post 
mortem  was  held,  and  there  was  no  proof  that  the 
animal  was  poisoned.  Fourth,  it  is  not  shown  that 
the  dog  tax  had  been  paid  in  obedi-nce  to  the 
statute  of  1862,  known  as  Judge  Corey's  dog  law." 
Without  awaiting  an  opinion  of  the  court  as  to  the 
merits  of  the  third  point,  his  opponent  deemed  the 
others  fatal  and  withdrew  his  action. 


OF  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  361 

JUDGE  THOMPSON  AND  THE  VETERANS. 

At  the  August  term  of  Common  Pleas  in  1832, 
over  a  hundred  veterans  of  the  revolution,  "  vener- 
erable  relics  handed  down  to  us  from  a  former  gen- 
eration," residents  of  this  county  gathered  to  pro- 
cure the  certificates  of  identity  from  the  court  whi  -h 
would  entitle  them  to  the  reward  for  their  patriotic 
services  of  half  a  century  before.  Naturally,  the 
the  aged  veterans,  halt,  lame  and  decrepid,  either 
from  honorable  wounds  or  the  palsying  hand  of 
Time,  were  somewhat  talkative  as  they  met  their 
old  comi-ades,  and  the  din  of  their  voices  as  they 
clustered  in  front  of  the  clerk's  desk,  each  anxious 
to  be  the  first  to  procure  his  "papers,"  was  such 
as  to  completely  stop  the  proceedings  of  the  court. 
At  this  moment  Judge  James  Thompson  thus  ad- 
dressed them  from  the  bench  : 

Gentlemen,  you  arc  here  claiming  to  have  been  soldiers,  and  to 
have  peit'ornied  military  service  in  the  revolutionary  war.  Men 
who  have  bcini  good  soldic  rs  retain  the  military  habits  acquired 
in  tbe  fielil  to  the  mid  of  their  lives.  Your  evident  lack,  of  disci- 
pline manifested  here  furnishes  strong  evidence  to  the  court  tiiat 
there  are  imposters  in  your  band.  The  court  will  hint  to  yeu  that 
if  you  wisli  to  be  received  with  favor,  you  must  exhibit  tokens  of 
soldierly  discipline.     RigLit  about  face!    Forward,  March! 

The:  effect  was  electrical.  The  veterans  executed 
the  manoeuvre  as  one  man,  marched  to  seats,  saluted 
the  bench  and  sat  down  ;  giving  the  highest  evidence 
that  they  were,  indeed,  the  war-worn  and  thorough- 
ly disciplined  soldiers  who  had  encountered  defeat, 
suff"ered  in  camps  and  finally  triumphed  under  the 
starry  ensign  of  their  country's  liberty. 
16 


362  THE  BENCH   AND  BAK 

BIRTHPLACE   OF   HON.  JOHISr    CRAMER. 

Half  a  century  ago  one  of  the  most  energetic  cit- 
izens, leading  lawyers  and  promising  public  men 
of  this  county  was  Hon.  John  Cramer  of  Waterford. 
The  author  is  indebted  to  Gen.  Bullard  for  the  fol- 
lowing incident  attending  Mr.   Cramer's  first  ap- 
pearance on  the  stage  of  life,  which  is  probably  new 
to  most  of  my  r<^aders  and  is  of  sufficient  interest 
to  be  here  related.     His  father,  Conrad  Cramer,  was 
one  of  the  tirst  settlers  in  the  Saratoga  patent,  living 
about  three  miles  south  west  of  the  mouth  of  Fish 
creek.     In  May,  1779,  on  the  approach  of  the  band 
led  by  Thomas  Lovelace,  (on  the  raid  in  which  he 
was  captured  and  hung,  December  14,  ensuing,)  Mr. 
Cramer  packed  his  family  and  movables  in  a  wagon 
and  started  for  Halfmoon  point.      They  reached 
Simon's  tavern  (which  stood  near  the  river  a  few 
rods  north  of  the^    present  line  dividing  Saratoga 
from  Stillwater,   near  Wilbur's  basin)  where  the 
excitement    overcome    his   wife   and   prematurely 
brought  on  the  pangs  of  child   birth.     The   little 
hotel  was  crowded  with  refug(!es,  and  tiie  Cramer 
family  could  not  obtain  admittance.     At  this  place 
and  under  these  circumstances  on  the  17th  of  that 
May,  the  infant,  who  subsequently  became  Hon. 
John  Cramer,  state  senator  and  i  epresentative  in 
congress,  was  born.     So  frail,  apparently,  was  his 
hold  on  life  thrit  it  was  thought  to  be  impossible  to 
induce   respiration.     He  weighed   less    than   four 
pounds,  but  a  maiden  aunt  determined  to  save  the 
little  waif  thus  cast  upon  the  sea  of  time— and  sue- 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  363 

ceeded.  He  lived,  a  tall,  broad  chested  vigorous 
man,  far  beyond  the  Psalmist's  limit  to  the  dawn 
o:  the  centennial  of  that  liberty  with  whose  birth 
his  was  so  strangely  contemporaneous,  and  died  at 
his  residence  in  the  village  of  Waterford,  June  1, 
1870,  in  the  92d  year  of  his  age.  He  graduated  at 
Union  college  in  1801,  in  the  fifth  class  of  that  hon- 
ored institution  of  learning.  He  was  member  of 
assembly  in  1806,  1811  and  1842;  state  senator  in 
1828-4  5  ;  member  of  the  constitutional  convention 
of  1821,  representative  in  congress  from  1883  to  1837, 
and  was  appointed  a  master  in  chancery  in  1805. 
The  tory  Lovelace  was  a  a  descendant  of  the  colon- 
ial governor,  Lord  Lovelace,  who  succeeded  Lord 
Cornbury,  December  18,  1708. 

ATSTECDOTE   OF    IlOlSr.    HENRY    SMITH. 

Ex-speaker  Henry  Smith  of  Albany  is  an  attorney 
and  counselor  who  frequently  appears  in  our  courts. 
Being  gifted  with  the  faculty  of  giving  and  taking 
a  joke,  quick  at  repartee,  and  eloquent  withal,  his 
appearance  in  a  trial  in  our  court  room  is  the  signal 
for  a  large  audience  to  assemble.  The  following 
anecdote,  in  which  he  bears  a  conspicuous  part, 
has  found  it  way  into  print.  At  an  Albany  Circuit 
in  1870,  he  and  Hon.  Lyman  Treraain  were  oppos- 
ing counsel  in  a  breach  of  promise  case.  The  plain- 
tiff was  a  beautiful  young  lady  of  delicate  organi- 
zation, and  when  she  came  to  be  cross  examined 
by  Mr.  Smith  she  quailed  and  linally  fell  from  her 
seat  iu  9.  swoon.     The  sympathies  of  all  the  spec- 


364  THE  BENCH  AND   BAR 

tators,  jury  included,  were  at  once  enlisted  in  lier 
behalf,  and  Mr.  Smith  saw  that  he  must  do  some- 
thing to  stem  the  tide.     So  when  the  next  witness 
(a  calm  appearing,  motherly  old  lady)  was  turned 
to  him  for  cross  examination  by  Mr.  Tremain,  he 
said  :  "  Madam,  you  saw  the  plaintiff  faint  awhile 
ago?"     "Yes,  sir."     "You  saw  her  face  that  it 
didn't   turn  paler'     "Yes,  sir."     "  Well,  peoj^le 
turn  pale  when  they  faint,  don't  they  ?"    "No,  not 
always."    "  Did  you  ever  hear  of  a  case  of  fainting 
where  the  party  did  not  turn  pale?"     "Yes,  sir." 
"Did  you  ever  see  such  a  case?"     "Yes,  sir." 
"When,  and  where?"     "In  this   city."     "Who 
was  it  ?"  demanded  Mr.  Smith.     "  It  was  a  negro," 
coolly  responded  the  witness.     The  plaintiff  won 
the  case,  it  is  probably  needless  to  add.     Equally 
fatal  to  his  case  was  another  desperate  attempt  that 
he  made  in  trying  an  indictment  in  this  county,  a 
few  years  since.     Two  of  the  principal  witnesses 
for  the  opposite  side  were  a  butcher  aud  a  life  in- 
surance agent.    To  break  the  force  of  their  testimony 
he  labored  long  and  strenuously.     He  said  that  the 
bloody  occupation  of  a  butcher  frequently  so  hard- 
ened his  feelings  and  obliterated  the  tender  senti- 
ments from  his  mind  that  he  became  callous  and 
unable  to  disc  ^n  properly  between  right  and  wrong. 
As  to  the  insurance  agent,  who  in  his  testimony 
acknowledged  that  he  had  followed  all  the  occupa- 
tions which  the  poet  Joel  Barlow  said  the  Yankee 
would  do  to  achieve  wealth  at  forty,  except  preach- 
ing and  tin  peddling,  he  was  patricularly  severe, 


OF  SARATOGA   COUNTY.  365 

closing  with  this  declaration  :  "When  a  man. has 
followed  every  occupation  that  ingenuity  has  de- 
vised to  avoid  mental  and  manual  labor,  and  failed 
to  secure  a  livelihood,  he  is  just  fitted  for  a  life 
insurance  agent."  People  who  have  had  their  pa- 
tience drilled  to  the  Laurentian  formation  by  these 
adhesive  agents  will  heartily  agree  with  him.  But 
his  allusions  we  unfortunately  ill  timed,  for  there 
were  tioo  agents  sitting  on  the  bench,  and  three 
butchers  in  the  jury  box.  The  natural  result  was 
a  disagreement.  Whether  the  jury  stood  nine  to 
three  is  a  secret,  but  if  a  jury  was  ever  excusable 
for  disagreeing  that  was  the  one. 

A   SECRET   EXPOSED. 

For  several  years  there  has  been  a  chronic  charge 
that  the  constables  sworn  to  attend  juries  in  their 
deliberations  were  ''leaky  vessels;"  because  the 
secret  of  how  the  jur}^  stood  on  different  ballots,  if 
they  remained  out  an  unusual  length  of  time,  was 
sure  to  be  known  to  the  public.  But  the  charge 
was  illfounded.  The  court  house  itself  is  the  tell- 
tale. Last  spring,  when  the  jury  in  the  Dr.  T.  E. 
Allen"  matter  went  to  their  room,  the  author  was 
engaged  in  the  law  library  room  adjoining.  Soon 
voices  were  heard  through  the  stovepipe  hole  in 
the  partition  wall,  and  the  I'esult  of  that  trial  was 
known  to  those  in  the  library  twenty  two  hours 
before  it  was  officially  announced  by  the  foreman 
of  the  jury,  A.  P.  Blood,  to  the  court.  Tlie  secret, 
hitherto  known  only  to  a  few,  was  thus  explained 


366  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

and  the  credit  of  the  constabulary  force  remains 
unimpeached. 

maxwell's  colored  jury. 

The  first,  and  so  far  as  known,  the  only  jury 
composed  solely  of  colored  men  ever  impanneled 
in  the  state  was  sworn  by  a  member  of  our  county 
bar,  acting  in  the  capacity  of  a  justice  of  the  peace 
of  the  town  of  Milton,  long  before  the  fifteenth 
amendment  was  thought  of,  or  Chief  Justice  Taney 
had,  erroneously,  been  charged  witli  holding  that 
"  negroes  have  no  rights  which  white  men  are  bound 
to  respect."  About  thirty  years  ago,  Sarah  Gun- 
day,  an  aged  colored  crone  living  at  the  county 
seat,  declared  on  oath  before  Justice  Maxwell  tiiat 
'*  Sure  to  gracious,"  Roxana  Williams,  a  frail  Ethi- 
opian damsel,  "had  done  gone  and  stolen,  her 
shawl."  A  warrant  for  the  arrest  of  the  light  lin- 
gered Roxana  was  issued  and  given  to  John  B. 
McLean,  the  present  deputy  county  clerk,  but  then 
a  constable,  to  serve.  The  culprit  was  arrested  and 
arraigned.  Her  counsel  demanded  a  trial  by  her 
peers.  A  mnlre  was  issued  and  McLean  started 
for  the  "peers."  He  found  them  in  the  persons  of 
Peter  Wentwjrth,  Charles  Johnson,  John  M.  Nel 
son,  Austin  White  and  eight  other  "sunburnt" 
citizens.  With  them  he  appeared  at  the  justice's 
door,  and,  it  being  a  hot  day  in  July,  the  latter 
instantly  adjourned  court  to  Ford's  grove,  in  the 
east  part  of  the  village.  The  court  was  duly  organ- 
ized, the  justice  sitting  on  a  stump  and  the  "  chosen 


Of  SARATOGA  COUNTY.  367 

six,  big  with  destiny,"  on  a  fallen  tree.  The  evi- 
dence was  taken,  the  counsel  summed  the  matter, 
and  the  court  delivered  a  most  lucid  charge.  The 
constable  was  sworn  and  retired  with  his  dusky 
charge  to  a  secluded  part  of  the  grove  Soon  he 
yas  seen  returning,  followed  in  Indian  file  by  the 
jury.  To  the  usual  question  Peter  Wentworth,  the 
foreman,  drew  up  his  tall  form,  adjusted  his 
"specs"  and  responded:  "We  find  the  prisoner 
not  guilty,  but  Roxana  must  return  Aunt  Sarah' s 
shawl." 

LEGAL   CHIROGRAPHY. 

Most  gentlemen  who  are  invested  with  the  degree 
of  attorney  and  counselor  soon  afterwards  attain 
the  art  of  executing  specimens  of  chirography 
which  are  peculiar  to  their  learned  profession. 
Whether  it  is  a  following  of  a  custom  "  to  the  con- 
rary  of  which  the  mind  of  man  runneth  not ;"  or, 
whether  they  seek  to  write  a  hand  combining  all 
the  iiowing  outlines  of  the  ancient  Hebrew,  the  acute 
angles  of  the  "  heathen  Chinee  "  and  the  uncertain 
twists  of  the  modern  Arabic  is  a  mystery  as  deep 
as  tlie  Sphinx,  dertain  it  is  that  with  few  excep- 
tions no  class  of  pei'sons  are  guilty  of  causing  so 
many  infractions  of  the  third  commandment  on  the 
part  of  printers  as  the  legal  fraternity,  unless  it  be 
the  reverend  clergy,  whose  illegible  tangles  prove 
quite  often  a  cypher  to  which,  like  the  Mexican 
hieroglyphics,  no  key  of  interpretation  can  be 
found.  .  A  well  known  son  of  this  county,  who  has 


368  THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 

achieved  high  fame  at  the  bar,  says  that  he  writes 
three  hands :  "  One  that  anyone  can  read,  by  study- 
ing it ;  another  that  he  can  read  himself,  after  deep 
deliberation;  and  a  third  that  the  d— 1  cannot  read." 
The  author  once  saw  him  at  a  Circuit  hand  up  to 
Judge  Theodore  Miller,  who  was  presiding,  his 
minutes  of  evidence  with  a  request  that  his  Honor 
would  decipher  them  at  his  leisure  and  consider 
them  as  a  part  of  his  argument  on  the  mooted 
point.  The  butt  of  the  joke  lay  in  the  fact  that 
Judge  Miller  is  allowed  all  around  to  be  the  cham- 
pion "crooked"  chirographer  of  the  bench  and 
bar  of  the  whole  state. 

It  used  to  be  related  of  Judge  George  Palmer  of 
Stillwater  that  he  once  wrote  a  sharp  dunning  letter 
for  a  client  to  a  slow  debtor.  He  received  it  and 
was  unable  to  translate  it,  or  even  to  tell  its  origin. 
Going  to  Stillwater,  a  few  days  later,  he  took  the 
"puzzle"  along,  thinking  that  probably  Judge 
Palmer  could  explain  the  riddle.  The  latter  under- 
took the  task  and  after  wrestling  with  the  "pot- 
hooks" a  moment  said:  "It's  of  no  use,  all  the  fiends 
in  Hades  could  not  read  that, '^'^ and  impatiently 
turned  over  the  page,  where  his  own  bold  signature, 
"Geo.  Palmer,"  confronted  him.  All  at  once  it 
was  clear  as  noonday,  and  the  poor  debtor  regretted 
that  he  had  not  left  the  mystery  unsolved. 

Similar  to  this  is  the  story  told  of  the  gentleman 
who  at  present  the  senior  member  of  our  bar.  He 
handlesa  quill  in  even  n  more  cnreloss  ninnn(M-than 
did  the  late  Horace  Greeley.     At  one  time,  but  a 


or   SARATOGA   COUNTY.  369 

few  years  since,  lie  thouglit  he  would  enjoy  a  vaca- 
tion shooting  prairie  chickens  with  his  brother  in 
Illinois.  So  he  mailed  a  letter  signifying  his  inten- 
tions, and  after  the  superscription  had  been  fully 
"cussed  and  discussed"  along  the  route  by  the 
mail  agents  and  post  clerks  it  finally  came  to  its 
destination  ;  and,  after  traveling  through  the  neigh- 
borhood it  finally  came  to  its  owner,  who  recognized 
the  superscription  on  the  envelope  but  totally  col- 
lapsed under  the  pressure  of  attempting  to  read  the 
contents  The  results  of  his  unavailing  labors  were 
thus  summed  up  in  a  letter  sent  to  his  legal  brother 
in  response : 

T«ur  letter  looked  as  if  it  were  written  upside  down.  I  turned 
it  over  and  it  looked  more  so.  I  showed  it  to  our  school  master, 
but  his  learning  was  not  deep  enough  to  fathom  your  hieroglyphics. 
I  laid  it  carefully  away  until  my  next  visit  to  Peoria.  I  took  it 
there  and  submitted  it  to  a  famous  linguist,  who  is  versed  in  many 
tongues.  He  gave  it  a  most  careful  examination  and  decided  that 
it  was  not  written  in  any  known  language,  livmg  or  dead.  I  re- 
mail  it  to  you  and  wish  yon  would  send  me  a  translation,  but,John, 
I  would  advise  yeu  to  go  to  school  and  learn  to  write." 

Now  came  the  most  difiicult  part.  Our  friend 
had  given  up  the  hunting  trip  and  had  forgotten 
the  letter,  and  wheii  it  arrived  he  was  unable  to 
read  it  himself.  And  yet,  with  all  the  pains  he 
had  taken  these  many  years  to  attain  an  exalted 
position  as  a  writer  of  illegible  manuscript,  if  he 
should  contest  for  a  premium  in  that  art  there  are 
several  members  of  our  county  bar  who  could 
easily  distance  him  and  secure  the  medal. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE  SARATOGA  COUNTY  BAR— CONCLUSION. 

The  following  gentlemen  now  residing  in  this 
connty,  who  have  been  duly  admitted  to  "  practice 
in  all  the  courts  of  this  state,"  comprise  its  bar  as 
at  present  constituted.  Some  of  them  are  not  in 
practice,  and  are  engaged  in  other  professions  or 
avocations : 


George  G.  Scott. 
Neil  Gilmour. 
Geo.  W.  Chapraan. 
Alvah  C.  Diike. 
George  W.  Hall. 


Augustus  Bockes. 
Edward  F.  Ballard. 
John  W.  Craae. 
John  R.  Putnam. 


John  W.  Thompson. 
Jesse  S.  L'A.moreaux. 
N.  Jewett  Johnson. 
Edwin  Quackeiibush. 
Enos  R.  Mann. 


BALLSTON   SPA. 

Jolin  Brotherson. 
James  W.  Verbtck. 
Seth  Whalen. 
William  J.  Hillis. 
Theo.  F.  Hamilton. 

CKESCENT. 

Truman  G.  Younglove. 

CORINTH. 

David  Maxwell. 

GALWAY 

Patrick  Henry  Meehan. 

MECHANICVILLE. 

James  F.  Terry. 

SARATOGA   SPRINGS. 

Oliver  L.  Barbour.  Charles  S.  Lester. 

John  C.  Ilulbcrt.  Nathaniel  B.  Sylvester 

William  A  Sackett.  George  S.  Batcheller. 

Alembert  Pond.  Lewis  Varney. 


OF  SARATOGA  COUNTY. 


371 


Lemuel  B.  Pike. 
Silas  P.  Briggs. 
Henry  W.  Menill. 
Joseph  W.  Hill. 
John  T.  CaiT. 
William  C.  Barrett. 
Jeseph  D.  Briggs. 
J«bn  Foley. 
John  Van  Rensselaer. 
Chas.  H.  Tefftjr. 
William  L.  Graliame. 
John  R.  McGregor. 
Edgar  T.  Brackett. 

Delcour  S.  Potter. 


John  Newland. 
John  M.  Davison. 
John  W.  Martin. 
John  A.  Bryan. 
Aar«n  B.  Olmstead. 
James  P.  Butler. 
James  S.  B.  Scott 
John  L.  Barbour. 
Elii^ha  H.  Peters. 
Jesse  !Stiles. 
Sidney  J   Cowen. 
Frank  B.  Benton. 
George  H.  Mosher. 

SCHUYLERVILLE. 

Samuel  Wells. 


Winsor  B.  French. 
Patrick  Henry  Cowen. 
James  M.  Andrews. 
William  M.  Searing. 
Phineas  F.  Allen. 
Algernon  S.  Burdick. 
Charles  C.  Lester. 
William  H.  Eustis. 
John  H.  Benedict. 
William  B.  II.  Bunce. 
James  M.  Andrews,  jr. 
Charles  M.  Davison. 


Philander  C.  Ford. 


STILLWATER. 

Lawrence  Vandemark. 


WATERFORD 

Cornelius  A  Waldron.  Isaac  C.  Ormsby. 
Geo.  B.  Lawrence.        Gad  H.  Lee. 


Francis  S.  Waldron. 
William  T.  Seymour.* 

Of  natives  of  this  county  and  others,  who  have 
resided  here  for  a  time,  who  have  in  the  practice  of 
the  profession  of  the  law  gained  honor  and  fame 
for  themselves  elsewhere,  may  be  named  the  late 
venerable  Gideon  Hawley  of  Albany,  a  native  of 
Charlton  ;  Judge  Philo  D.  Woodruff  of  Columbus, 
Ga. ;  Judge  Nathaniel  Bacon  of  Niles,  Michigan,  a 
native  of  Ballston  ;  Judge  Francis  N.  Mann  of  Troy, 
a  native  of  Milton  ;  Judge  Samuel  Belding  of  Ams- 


*Since  the  completion  of  this  work  and  while  it  was  in  pres.**^ 
the  name  of  a  member  of  the  bar  of  this  count}',  Charles  Cramer 
of  Walerford,  has  been  stricken  from  its  roll  by  the  Great 
Judge.  Mr.  Cramer  was  a  son  of  the  Hon.  Jolin  Cramer,  and  was 
a  man  of  sterling  personal  qualities  tliat  endeared  him  to  his  circle 
of  frien<ls.  he  was  liberally  educated  and  trained  for  the  bar,  but 
devoted  his  life  more  lo  literary  than  forensic  work. 


872  THE  BENCH  AND   BAKi 

terdam,  a  liative  of  Cliarlton ;  Levi  Subbell  of 
Milwaukee,  Wis. ;  William  B.  Harris  of  Albany  ; 
James  W.  Culver  of  Jersey  City ;  Edgar  L.  Furs 
man,  John  C.  Greene  and  Esek  Cowen  of  Troy  ; 
John  L.Hill  of  Brooklyn;  Miles  B. Castle  and  Fred- 
erick Mosher  of  Sandwich,  Illinois  ;  .William  Mc 
Kindley,  William  M.  King  and  William  K.  Stur- 
gess  of  Chicago;  Pliny  W.  Bartholomew  of  Indian- 
apolis ;  Waldo  M.  Potter  (formerly  of  the  Sarato- 
gian)  of  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa  ;  Charles  A.  Davison, 
Judge  Gilbert  M.  Spier,  Joseph  A.  Shoudy  and 
John  R.  Fellows  of  New  York ;  Flamen  Ball  of 
Cincinnati;  John  A.  DeRemer  of  Schenectady,  and 
others  whose  names  escape  me,  it  may  be  said  tint 
Saratoga  continues  to  cherish  them  as  her  absent 
sons,  and  over  the  graves  of  those  who  have  fallen 
asleep  she  folds  the  pall  and  enshrines  their  fame 
in  her  memory. 

A  mention  needs  be  made  of  the  "  State  and 
National  Law  School"  established  by  John  W. 
Fowler,  a  bright  but  erratic  sou  of  genius,  in  the 
old  Sans  Souci  hotel,  Ballston  Spa,  in  1849.  He 
opened  it  with  a  full  corps  of  competent  profes- 
sors and  secured  an  abundant  patronage.  Among 
the  graduates  may  be  mentioned  the  names  of  Col. 
Slocum  of  the  1st  Rhode  Island  infantry,  who  fell 
at  the  head  of  his  regiment  fighting  at  Bull  Run  ; 
Governor  Gilbert  C.  Walker  of  Virginia,  Judge 
Abraham  R.  Lawrence,  Surrogate  Delano  C.  Cal- 
vin and  Gen.  Roger  A.  Pry  or  of  New  York,  and 
ex -judge  Samuel  D.Morrisof  Brooklyn— an  alumni 


OF  SARATOGA    COUNTY.  373 

that  would  retiect  honor  on  any  institution.  At 
the  commencement  in  1850,  there  were  present  Ex- 
President  Van  Buren,  Governor  Hamilton  Fish 
and  the  great  Kentucky  commoner,  Henry  Clay. 
The  latter  made  a  memorable  address  to  the  stu- 
dents, addressing  through  them  for  the  last  time  the 
young  men  of  America  in  words  of  earnest  coun- 
sel to  be  true  to  themselves  and  their  country.  But 
the  projector  of  this  law  school,  to  balance  all  his 
other  attainments,  lacked  what  Gen.  McCook  called 
a  ' 'level  head. ' '  He  was  very  improvident,  knowing 
nothing  of  the  financial  problems  conducive  to  suc- 
cess, and,  after  three  years  of  active  and  useful  life, 
the  institution  went  into  bankruptcy. 

Mention  was  made  in  the  life  sketch  of  Thomas 
Palmer  of  the  building  of  the  first  county  clerk' s 
oltice.  The  supervisors  in  1865,  resolved  to  build 
the  present  edifice  in  the  cotirt  house  grounds  ;  the 
former  having  become  unsafe  and  inadequate,  as 
we  1  as  too  remote  from  the  court  room.  They 
appointed  Arnold  Harris,  Joseph  Baucus,  David 
T.  Lamb,  James  W.  Hortou,  Edwin  H.  Chapman, 
Charles  S.  Lester  and  William  V.  Clark  a  com- 
mittee to  erect  the  new  building  at  a  cost  of  10,000. 
It  was  completed  and  occupied  in  the  summer  of 
18G6  ;  Mr.  Horton  having  previous  removed  the 
records  to  the  state  armory,  now  Christ  church 
chapel,  on  High  street. 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  the  four  pillars  of  the 
bar  circle.     They  were  placed  in  position  to  sustain 
the  roof  of  the  building.     But,  the  *'  place  that  once 
17* 


374  THE  BENCH  AND   BAR 

knew  them,  will  know  them  no  more,  forever."  In 
the  summer  of  1874,  the  court  house  committee  of 
the  board  of  supervisors  resolved  on  a  general  series 
of  repairs.  They  began  by  trussing  the  roof  and 
removing  the  then  useless  pillars.  The  whole  build- 
ing was  next  treated  with  an  entire  new  ceiling  of 
mortar  and  "  hard  finish,"  and  painted  throughout. 
At  first  it  was  resolved  to  remove  the  judges'  bench 
to  the  east  end  of  the  room  with  the  bar  and  jurors' 
chairs  occupying  the  whole  of  that  part  of  the  room. 
After  one  term  it  was  found  to  be  inconvenient,  and 
the  old  arrangement  with  improvements  was  again 
adopted,  and  with  the  exception  of  the  absence  of 
the  time  worn  pillars  and  a  general  modern  appear- 
ance imparted  to  the  room,  it  again  wears  its 
accustomed  features. 

A  high  compliment  was  paid  to  our  county  bar 
in  the  year  187;).  The  Khedive  of  Egypt,  imbued 
with  the  high  and  noble  idea  of  restoring  to  his 
land  the  civilization  wiiich  it  enjoyed  in  the  long  by- 
gone centuries,  sought  the  aid  of  the  outside  nations. 
He  determined  to  create  courts  of  law  on  the  Europ- 
ean models  and  established  a  supreme  tribunal  ;  to 
which  he  appointed  three  of  his  native  counselors, 
and  thei-  asked  the  governments  of  the  United 
States,  Great  Britain  and  Prance  to  each  designate 
a  citizen,  learned  in  the  law,  who  would  come  to 
the  land  where  Joseph  and  his  brethren  dwelt  as 
strangers  and  accept  from  him  an  appointment  for 
five  years  as  a  judge  of  the  Egyptian  supreme 
court.     Hon.  Hamilton  Fish,  secretary  of  state,  iu 


OF  SARATOGA  OOUICTY.  375 

accepting  this  delicate  task  determined  to  designate 
one  who  wonld  be  an  honor  to  the  American  name 
while  he  dwelt  beneath  the  shadows  of  Cheops, 
from  whose  summit  forty  centuries  look  down 
upon  the  changing  centers  of  human  civilization. 
He  tendered  the  appointment  to  Gen.  George  S. 
Batcheller  of  Saratoga  Springs,  as  to  a  gentleman 
who  was  equally  gifted  as  a  lawyer  and  a  statesman, 
and  who  as  a  jurist,  under  these  peculiar  circum- 
stances, would  be  best  fitted  to  perform  the  duties 
that  would  come  before  him.  Gen.  Batcheller, 
after  some  hesitation  and  by  the  advice  of  his 
friends,  decided  to  accept  the  task  of  carrying  the 
science  of  modern  jurisprudence  to  the  land  of  the 
Pharoahs  and  Ptolemys  from  the  land  to  thera 
unknown,  unless  it  be  the  "  lost  Atlantis,"  si^oken 
of  in  the  fragments  of  Herodotus  as  the  land  to 
which  the  Phoenicean  caravajals  sailed  and  planted 
colonies.  He  is  now  living  at  Cairo,  and  both 
American  and  European  tourists  speak  in  high 
terms  of  the  American  judge  and  the  hospitality  of 
his  amiable  family ;  while  from  the  Egyptian 
journals  come  fine  encomiums  of  the  work  per- 
formed by  the  jurist  from  the  Western  World. 

And  now  a  word  in  conclusion.  This  has  been 
on  the  part  of  the  author  a  labor  of  love.  The 
material  embraced  in  this  work  partly  matter  of 
record  and  partly  traditions  gathered  from  the 
memories  of  old  residents  of  the  county  was  lying 
uncollected  and  the  latter,  especially,  was  fast 
going  to  the  shades  of  oblivion,  as  successively  the 


876  THB  BENCH  AND  BAR 

possessors  of  this  knowledge  were  called  to  their 
final  homes.  For  several  years  he  has  devoted  a 
good  share  of  his  leisure  time  to  conversing  with 
these  elderly  parties  and  jotting  down  their  recol- 
lections of  the  men  and  times  in  which  they  lived. 
As  a  son  of  Saratoga  proud  of  her  honored  name, 
and  as  a  duty  which  he  felt  he  owed  to  the  pro- 
fession to  which  he  was  trained,  he  determined  to 
publish  this  record  of  its  "  Bench  and  Bar,"  And 
what  better  time  could  be  decided  upon  for  such 
publication  than  the  centennial  year  of  our  national 
liberties  whnn  the  public  mind  is  intuitively  turned 
backward  to  the  days  of  the  fathers.  As  a  contri- 
bution to  the  centennial  literature  of  the  country 
these  reminiscences  are  offered. 


APPENDIX. 


CIVIL,    REGISTER— 1791-1876. 


FIRST  JUDGES  OF  COMMON   PLEAS. 

1791 — John  Thompson,  Stillwater. 

1809— Salmon  Child,  Greenfield. 

1818 — James  Thompson,  Milton. 

1833 — Samuel  Young,  Ballston. 

1838 — Thomas  J.  Marvin,  Saratoga  Springs. 

JUDGES  OP  COMMON  PLEAS. 

1791 — James  Gordon,  Ballston ;  Jacobus  Van  Schoonhoven, 
Waterford  ;  Beriah  Palmer,  Ballston  ;  Sidney  Berry,  Saratoga. 

1793 — Adam  Comstock,  Greenfield. 

1794— Epenetus  White,  Ballston. 

1803— Samuel  Clark,  Malta. 

1806— John  Taylor,  Charlton  ;  John  McClelland,  Galway. 

1809— John  Stearns,  Halfmoon  ;  Nathaniel  Ketchum,  Stillwater. 

1811— William  Stilwell,  Ballston;  Samuel  Drake,  Halfmoon. 

1813 — Benjamin  Cowles,  Hadley. 

1813 — Ashbel  Andrews,  Malta;  Williaua  Patrick,  jr.  Stillwater; 
Elisha  Powell,  Milton;  Ziba  Taylor,  Saratoga;  John  M.  Berry, 
Moreau;  Abner  Carpenter,  Ballston  ;  Abraham  Moe,  Halfmoon. 

1815 — Thomas  Laing,  Northumberland ;  Avery  Starkweather, 
Galway. 

1§17 — Thomas  Dibble,  Mikon  ;  Herman  Ganzevoort,  Northum- 
berland. 

1818 — Salmon  Child,  Greenfield;  Abraham  Moe,  Halfmoon; 
James  McCrea,  Ballston  ;  John  Prior,  Gre  -nfield. 

1820 — Samuel  Cook,  Milton  ;  James  Van  Schoonhoven, Waterf'd. 

1831 — Harvey  Granger  Saratoga. 

1833 — Guert  Van  Schoonhoven,.  VVaterfcnd ;  John  H.  Steel, 
Saratoga  Springs. 

1836— Nicholas  B.  Doe,  Waterfard. 

1839 — George  Palmer.  Stillwater. 

1836 — Thomas  J.  Marvin  Saratoga  Springs. 


378  APPENDIX. 

1838 — George  G.  Scott,  Ballston  ;  John  Gilchrist,  Charlton. 
1841 — Seymour  St.  John,  Greenfield. 
184o — Lewis  Stone,  Galway. 
1845 — William  L.  F.  Warren,  Saratoga  Springs. 
184G— Joshua  Maudeville,  Waterford. 

[Note.,— Prior  to  1818,  the  number  of  judges  was  unlimited  by 
statute.] 

COUNTY  JUDGES. 

1847 — Augustus  Bockes,  Saratoga  Springs. 
1854 — John  A.  Corey,  Saratoga  Springs. 
1855 — James  B.  McKpan,  SnratogM  Springs. 
1859 — John  ^V■.  Crane,  S  iralog  .  Springs. 
1863 — John  C.  Hulbert,  Saratoga  Springs. 
1870 — Charles  S.  Lester,  Saratoga  Springs. 

JUSTICES  OF  THE  PEACE  FOR   SESSIONS. 

1847— Abel  A.  Kellogg,  Sar.  Spgs.;  Wm.  T.  Seymour,Waterford. 

1848— Abel  A.  Kellogg,  Sar.  Spes.;  Wra.  T.  Seymour,W:iterford. 

1849— Abel  A.  Kellogo;,  Sar  Spffs.;  Wm.  T.  Sevmour.Waterford. 

1850— David  W.  Wait,' Halfmoou  ;  David  Maxwell,  Milton. 

1851— David  W.  Waif,  H  alt  moon ;  Thomas  G.  Young,  Ballston. 
I  ,1852— David  W   Wait,  Halsraoon  ;  John  Gilford,  Greenfield. 

1853— William  Wilson,  Milton  ;  Samuel  B.  Edwards,  Ballston. 

1854 — Abraham  Sickler,  Halfmoon  ;  David  Maxwell,  Milton. 

1855 — David  Lvon,  Corinth;  Cornelius  A.  Waldnm,  Waterford. 

1856 — Augustus  E.  Brown,  Milton;  Alex.  Hannay,  Stillvvatt*r. 

1857 — Augustus  E.  Brown,  Milton  ;  Obadiah  Green,  Wilton 

1858 — Tilley  Houghton,  Corinth  ;  David  Maxwell,  million. 

1860 — George  D.  Angle,  Wilton  ;  Seneca  Deuel,  Providence. 

1861 — David  Maxwell,  Milton  ;  Seneca  Deuel,  Providence. 

1862— Jacob  Boyce,  Wilton  ;  Reub<n  H.  Barber,  Stillwater. 

1863— David  MaxwelJ,  Milton;  Adam  Mott,  Clifton  Park. 

1864 — Malcolm  McNaughton,  Saratoga  ;  Tilley  Houghton,  Cor- 
inth. 

1865— William  D.  Marvin,  Malta;  Adam  Mott,  Clifton  Park. 

1866— Abraham  Marshall,  Northumberland  ;  Malcolm  McNough- 
ton,  Saratoga. 

1867 — Abraham  Marshall,  Northumberland  ;  William  Warner, 
Ballston. 

1868 -David  Maxwell,  Milton;  Adam  Molt,  Clifton  Park. 

1869 — Samuel  Wells,  Saratoga;  Geo.  Washburne,  Northumli'd. 

1870— Geo.  Washburne,  Northumberland  ;  Charles  E.  Gorseline, 
Halfmoon. 

1871- Charles  E.  Gorseline,  Halfmoon ;  George  Washburne, 
Northumberland. 

1872 — H.  Ransom  Colsou,  Edinburgh  ;  John  F.  Pruyn,  Waterf'd. 

1873 — John  F.  Pruyn,  Waterford  ;  Samuel  Lewis,  Northumb'd. 


APPENDIX.  379 

1874— Samuel  Lewis,  Northumberland;  Melbourne  Van  Voor- 
hees,  Half  moon. 

1875 — Melbourne  Van  Voorhees,  Halfmoon  ;  Pbineas  P.  Allen, 
Saratoga  Springs. 

1876— John  Brown,  Ballston  ;  John  Peck,  Clifton  Park. 

MASTERS  IN   CUANCERY. 

1801— Samuel  Cook,  Ballston. 

1805 — John  Cramer,  Halfmoon. 

1806— Wil.iam  Carpenter,  Providence  ;  Thomas  Lee,  jr.  Hadley. 

1807— Daniel  G.  Guernsey,  Halfmoon;  George  Palmer,  jr.  Still- 
water; Thomas  Laing,  Northumberland  ;  Eli  Smith,  Gal  way  ;  Her- 
man Ganzevoort,  Northumberland;  Thomas  Palmer,  Milton. 

1810— Ely  Beecher,  Edinburgh. 

1811— Elijah  W.  Abbott,  Saratoga. 

1813— Nathan  S.  Ilollister,  Charlton  ;  Aaron  Blake,  Saratwga ; 
Epenetus  White,  jr.  Ballston  ;  Joshua  Mandeville,  Halfmoon  ; 
John  Gibson,  Ballston ;  Othniel  Allen,  Providence ;  Thaddeus 
Jewett,  Galway. 

1814— Henry  Metcalf,  Stillwater ;  John  Metcalf,  Northumber- 
land ;  James  Scott,  Ballston  ;  Luther  Hulbert,  Malta. 

1815— Esek  Cowen,  Saratoga;  Samuel  S.  Barker,  Providence; 
Solomon  D.  Hollister,  Ballston  ;  John  Pettit,  Greenfield  ;  Benja- 
min Cowles,  Hadley. 

1816— William  Laing,  Northumberland;  Nicholas  W.  Angle, 
Moreau. 

1817— William  B.Van  Bentheuisen,  Saratoga ;  Bushnell  Benedict, 
Ballston  ;  Robert  Sumner,  Edinburgh  ;  William  Comstock,  North- 
umberland. 

1823— William  Given,  Waterford  ;  Thomas  Palmer,  Milton. 

1824— Wm.  L.  F.  Warren,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1881— George  W.  Kirtland,  Waterford. 

1832— Judiah  Ellsworth,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1834— Oran  G.  Otis,  Milton. 

1836— Jehn  A.  Corey,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1840— Joi\n  K.  Porter,  Waterford  ;  Archibald  Smith,  Charlton  ; 
James  M.  Andrews,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1841— Perry  G.  Ellsworth,  Saratoga  S,  aings. 

1843- Callender  Beecher,  Milton. 

1844— Edward  F.  Bullard,  Waterford  ;  Daniel  Shepherd,  Sara- 
toga Springs. 

1846— William  Avery,  Saratoga  Springs. 

EXAMINERS  IN   CHANCERY. 

1821— Harvey  F.  Leavitt,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1823— Samuel  Cook,  Milton. 

1824— Alpheus  Goodrich,  Milton  ;  Geo.  W.  Kirtland,  Waterford. 

1828— Judiah  Ellsworth,  Saratoga  Springs. 


880  APPENDIX. 

1834 — Nicholas  Hill,  jr.  Saratoga  Springs. 

1835— Oran  G.  Otis,  Milton. 

1837 — Sidney  J.  Cowen,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1840 — James  M.  Andrews,  Saratoga  Springs  ;  Nicholas  B.  Doe, 
Waterford  ;  Archibald  Smith,  Charlton. 

1841 — John  K.  Porter,  Waterford ;  Perry  G.  Ellsworth,  Saratoga 
Springs. 

1843— Thomas  G.  Young,  Ballston. 

1844 — Daniel  Shepherd,  Saratoga  Springs;  Edward  F.  BuUard, 
Waterford. 

1846 — William  L.  Avery,  Saratoga  Springs. 

SURROGATES. 

1791 — Sidney  Berry,  Waterford. 

1794— Henry  Walton,  Ballston. 

1808-  Beriah  Palmer,  Ballston. 

1812— Thomas  Palmer,  Milton. 

1814 — Daniel  G.  Guernsey,  Halfmoon. 

1815— Thou ia~  Palmer,  Milton. 

1816 — Georgri  Palmer,  Stillwater. 

1834— John  W.  Thompson,  Milton. 

1847 — John  C.  Hulbert,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1856 — Cornelius  A.  Waldron,  Waterford  (now  in  office). 

COUNTY  CLERKS. 

1791— Dirck  Swart,  Stillwater. 

1804— Seth  C.  Baldwin,  Ballston. 

1813— Levi  H.  Palmer,  Milton. 

1815— William  fetillwel,  Ballston. 

1818— Thomas  Palmer,  Milton. 

1833— Alpheus  Goodrich,  Milton. 

1840— Archibald  Smith  Charlton. 

1843 — Horace  Goodrich,  Milton. 

1846 — James  W.  Horton,  Ballston  (now  in  office). 

DISTRICT  ATTORNEYS. 

1818 — Richard  M.  Livingston,  Saratoga. 

1821 — William  L.  F.  Warren,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1836 — Nicholas  Hill,  jr.  Saratoga  Springs. 

1827— Cbesselden  Ellis,  Waterford. 

1843 — William  A.  Beach,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1847 — John  Lawrence.  Waterford. 

1851_William  T.  Odoll,  Milton. 

1857— John  O.  Mott,  Halfmoon. 

1860 — Charles  S.  Lester,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1863— Isaac  C.  Ormsby,  Waterford. 

1869— Winsor  B.  French.  Saratoga  Sprinjrs. 

1871— Isaac  C.  Ormsby,  Waterford  (n©w  in  office). 


APPENDIX.  381 

SHERIFFS. 

1791 — Jacob  fort,  jr.  Half  moon. 

1794_Douw  I.  Fonda,  Stillwater. 

1799— Henry  DMvi^  Haltinoon. 

1801— Setb  C.  Biildwin,  Ballslon. 

1804— Daniel  Bull,  Saratoga. 

1807 — Asahel  Porter,  Greenfield. 

1808— Daniel  Bull,  Saratoga. 

1810— Asahel  Porter,  Greenfield. 

18ll_Natlianiel  Ketchum,  Stillwater. 

1813— Hezckiali  Ketcbum,  Halfmoon. 

1815— James  Brisbiu,  jr.  Saratoga. 

1819— John  Dunning,  Malta. 

1821— John  R.  jMott,  Saratoga. 

1823— John  Dunning,  Milton. 

1826— Lvman  B.  Langworthy,  Milton. 

1829— John  Dunning,  Milton. 

1832— John  Vernam,  Waterford. 

183o  -Joseph  Jennings,  Milton. 

1838— Samuel  Freeman,  Ballston, 

1841— Robert  Speir,  Milton. 

1844— Isaac  Frink,  Milton. 

1847 — Thomas  Low,  Charlton. 

1850— Theodore  W.  Sanders,  Corinth. 

1852— Wm.  T.  Seymour,  Waterford,  (vice  Sanders,  resigned.) 

1853— Henry .H.  Hathorn,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1856— Philip  H.  McOmber,  Milton. 

1859— George  B.  Powell,  Milton. 

1862— Henry  H   Hathorn,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1865— Joseph  Baucus,  Northumberland. 

1808— Tabor  B.  Reynolds,  Wilton. 

1871 — Thomas  Noxon,  Halfmoon. 

1874 — Franklin  Carpenter,  Corinth. 

CRIERS. 

1719— Ezra  Buel.  Stillwater. 

1833— Nathaniel  Stewart,  Milton. 

1836— Hiram  Boss,  Milton. 

1848— Nathaniel  J.  Seeley,  Milton. 

1859 — Freeman  Thomas,  Milton. 

1863— David  F.  White,  Milton. 

1873— Norman  S.  May,  Saratoga  Springs. 

JAILORS. 

1796— Enos  Gregory;     1798— Joseph   Palmer;     1802— Samuel 

Hollister;      1811-Jonathan    Kellogg;      1812-Samuel    Holhster ; 

1813— Raymond  Tayl.)r  ;     1819— John  Duunmg  ;     183o^Cbes 


382  APPENDIX. 

ter  Stebbins;  1841— Tliomas  Low;  1844— Rowland  A.  Wright; 
1859— Frederick  T.Powell;  1874— iVlanlius  Jefiers  ;  1875— Frank- 
lin Carpenter. 

EXCISE   COMMISSIONERS  (ACT  OP  1857.) 

1857  -John  Stewart,  Wat'  rford,  Samuel  Lewis,  Northumber- 
land Truman  Satford,  Saratoga  Si)nngs. 

1858 — Ranson  Cook,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1861— Walter  Doty  Northumberland. 

1868 — John  W.  Eddy,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1864 — Austin  L.  Reynolds,  Moreau,  and  Morgan  L.  Finch,  Clif- 
ton Park. 

1867— Alfred  Angell,  Corinth. 

1869 — Seymour  Gilbert,  Saretoga  Sprinijs. 

CLERKS  OF   EXCISE   BOARDS. 

1857— William  B.  Harris,  Stillwater. 

1859— Jerome  B   Buckbee,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1863 — John  A.  Corey,  Saratoga  Springs. 

SUPERINTENDENTS  OF   HIUHWAYS.      (aCT   OF  1797.) 

1797— Samuel  Clark.  Stillwater,  Henry  Walton,  Ballston,  and 
J«hn  Bleecker,  Stillwater. 

1799 — John  Ten  Broeck,  Halfmoon  ;  Hugh  Peobles,  Halfmoen. 

COMMISSIONERS  OP  TAXES.      (ACT  OF  1799.) 

James  Gordon,  Ballston;  Henry  Walton,  Ballston;  Hugh  Peo- 
bles, Halfmoon. 

COUNTY  TREASURERS. 

1791 — Guert  Van  Schoonhoven,  Waterford. 

1793 — Samuel  Clark,  Stillwater. 

1794 — Caleb  Benedict,  Ballst(>u. 

1796— Elisha  Powell,  Milton. 

1798 — Robert  Let.nard,  Milton. 

1800— Jonaban  Kellogg,  Ballijton. 

1805— Edward  Watrous,  Ballston. 

1810 — Archy  Ka.sson,  Ballston. 

1815— Azariah  W.  Odell,  liallston. 

1822— Edward  Watrous,  Ballston. 

1881 — George  Thompson.  Ballston. 

1844— Arnold  Harris,  Ballston. 

1847— Edwanl  VV.  Lee,  Milton. 

1849— Arnold  Harris,  Ballston. 

1855— Orville  D.  Vaughn,  Milton. 

1861 — Henry  A  Mann,  Milton. 

1876— James  U.  Wright,  Saratoga  Springs. 


APPENDIX.  383 

SUFERINTENDENTS  OF  THE  rOOR. 

1837— Aaron  Morehouse,  Alpheus  Goodrich,  Jesse  Robertson, 
Hugh  Hawkins,  Rockwell  Putnam,  Earl  Stimson,  David  Benedict, 
David  Guernsey  and  Jonathan  Lapham. 

1837_Hugh  Hawkins,  Elisha  Powell,  Earl  Stimgon,  David  Guern- 
sey and  Chinstopher  Earl  (fiom  Nov.  16) 

1828— Hugh  Hawkins,  Elisha  I'owell,  Christopher  Earl,  Moses 
Williams  and  Alpheus  Goodrich. 

1831— Elisha  Powell,  Hugh  Hawkins,  Aaron  Morehouse  and 
Christopher  Earl. 

1832— Elisha  Powell,  Hugh  Hawkins  and  Aaron  Morehouse. 
1833— Elisha  Powell,  Aaron  Morehouse  and  Samuel  Smith. 
1835— Elisha  Powell,  Lebbeus  Booth  and  William  Hawkins. 
1842— William  Hawkins,  John  Wait  and  Edward  W.  Lee. 
1844— Lebbeus  Booth,  Abraham  Middlebrook  and  Jas.  H.  Speir. 

le  17— John  KcUv,  John  Wait  and  William  W.  Arnold. 

1848— Calvin  Wheeler,  Abraham  Middlebrook  and  William  A. 
Mundell. 

1849— Robert  Gardner. 

1850— Calvin  Wheeler. 

1851— Abraham  Middlebrook. 

1852— Robert  Gardner. 

1853— Samuel  Rue. 

1854— Abraham  jSIiddlebrook. 

1855 — Robert  Gardner. 

1856— Samuel  Rue. 

1857— Harmon  G.  Sweeney. 

1858 — Robert  Gardner. 

1859— Henry  Wright. 

I860— David  Rowley. 

1861— Richard  Hewitt. 

1862— Henry  Wright. 

1863— Henry  Holmes. 

1864— David  Rowley. 

1865— Alexander  Davidson. 

1866— Henry  Holmes  and  James  Tripp  {vice  Rowley,  deceased). 

1867 — James  Tripp. 

1868 — Alexander  Davidson. 

1869— Thomas  Sweet. 

1870— James  Tripp. 

1871 — Zimri  Lawrence. 

1872— Alexander  Davidson. 

1873 — James  Tripp. 

1874— Zimri  Lawrence. 

1875— George  W.  King. 

1876— James  Tripp. 

[Note —Prior  to  1832,  they   were  chosen   by   the  supervisors; 
from  1832  to  1842  they  were  appointed  by  the  Court  of  Common 


384  APPENDIX. 

Pleas  and  the  supervisors ;  from  1842  to  1848  they  were  again 
chosen  by  the  supervisors,  and  since  then  thej'  have  been  elected 
by  the  people.] 

KEEPERS  OP   THE   CODNTY   POORHOUSE,  ESTABLISHED   IN   1837. 

Benjamin  Cowles,  Daniel  A.  Collamer,  Sylvester  Blood,  Increase 
Hoyt,  Henry  Wright,  Charles  R.  Lewis,  William  W.  Hunt,  John 
J.  Gilbert  and  George  D.  Story. 

LOAN   OFFICERS  (LOAN   OF    1792). 

1792 — Guert  Van  Schoonoven,  Halfmoon. 
1794 — Cornelius  Vandenburgh,  Stillwater. 
1798— Elisha  Powell.  Miiton. 

[Note. — The  office  was  abolished  in  1832,  and  books  and  papers 
transferred  to  the  Commissioners  of  Loans.] 

COMMISSIONERS  OP   LOANS  (LOAN   OP   1808. 

1808— John  W.  Taylor.  Ballston  ;  Jolin  Cramer,  Waterford. 
1829 — Gideon  M.Davison,  Sar.  Spgs.;  Jn^hua  Blo()re,Waterford. 
1832 — George  W   Kirtland,  Walerfoid  (vice  Bloore). 
1840 — Daniel  Morgan,  Saratoga;  DeWilt  C.  Austin,  Moreau. 
1843— Cyrus  Perry,  Wilton  ;  George  G.  Scott,  Milton. 
[Note. — The  office  was  abolished  in  1850.  and  tbe  books  and 
papers  transferred  to  the  United  States  Deposit  Fund. 

COMMISSIONERS  OP  THE  UNITED  STATES  FUND  LOAN  (LOAN  OF  1837). 

1837 — Isaac  Friuk,  Wilton;  Joshua  Bloore,  Waterford. 
1840 — John  House,  Waterford;  Lebbeus  Booth,  Ballston. 
1843 — John  Cramer,  2d.,  Waterford  ;  Alvah  Dake,  Greenfield. 
1845 — Wm.  I.  Gilnbrist,  Charlton  ;  Jas  V.  Bradsbaw,  Halfmoon. 
1848— Calvin  W.  Dake,  Greenfield  ;  George  B.  Powell,  Milton. 
1855 — Andrew  Watrous,  Sar.  Springs;  Albert  A.  .Moor,  Milton. 
1861 — Seymour  Gilbert,  Sar.  Springs;  Nathaniel  Mann,  Milton. 
1865 — Joshua  Swan,  Milton  ;  Calvin  W.  Dake,  Greenfield. 
1869— Isaac  Grinnell,  Milton;  Daniel  C.  Coy,  Greenfield. 
1873 — Warren  Dake,  Greenfield  ;  Alonzo  Russell,  Saratoga. 

DEPUTY   SUPERINTENDENTS  OF   COMMON   SCHOOLS.      (ACT   OP    1841.) 

1841 — Alanson  Smith,  Saratoga  Springs. 
1843 — Seabury  Allen,  Galway. 

[Note. — They  v/ere  appointed  by  the  supervisors.'.and  the  office 
was  abolished  in  1847.] 

SCHOOL  COMMISSIONERS.      (ACT  OP  1856.) 

1856 — 1st  district,  Samuel  Tompkins,  Stillwater.  2d  district, 
Anson  M.  Boyce,  Wilton. 


APPENDIX.  385 

1858— 1st  district,  Charles  D.  Seeley,  Milton.  2d  district,  Anson 
M.  Boyce,  Wilten. 

1861— Ist  district,  Seymour  Cliase,  Milton.  2d  district,  Walton 
W.  French,*  Saratoga  Springs  ;  Anson  M.  Boycef,  Wilton. 

1864— 1st  district,  Thomas  McKindley,  Chaillon  2d  district, 
Henry  Wilcox,  jr.  Saratoga  Springs. 

1867— 1st  district,  Neil  Gilmour,  Milton.  2d  district,  Henry 
Wilcox,  jr ,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1870— l3t  district,  Seth  Wbalen,  Milton.  ■2d  district,  Oscar  F. 
Stiles,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1873--lst  district,  Neil  GiimourJ,  Milton;  Henry  L.  CJrosej^,  Mil- 
ton.     2d  district,  Oscar  F.  Stiles,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1876— 1st  district,  Nelson  L.  Roe,  Ballston.  2d  district,  John 
W.  Shorter,  Morcau. 

Di^LEGATES  TO   STATE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTIONS. 

1788-  Dirck  Swart,  Stillwater. 

1801— Adam  Comstock,  Greenfield  ;  Samuel  Lewis,  Northum- 
berland ;  Beriah  Palmer,  Ballston;  John  Thompson,  Stillwater; 
Daniel  L.  Van  Antwerp,  Stillwater. 

1821  — Salmon  Child,  Greenfield  ;  John  Cramer,  Waterf«rd  ; 
Samuel  Y«uns:,  Ballston  ;  Jeremy  Rockwell,  Hadley 

1846  -John'K.  Porter,  Waterford ;  James  M.  Cook,  Milton. 

1867--Alembert  Pond,  Saratoga  Springs. 

STATE    SENATORS. 

Anthony  Van  Schaick  of  Halfmoon,  in  1779  80 

Leonard  Ganzevoort  of  Surataga,  on  1791-2  8. 

Jacobus  Van  Schoonhoven  of  Halfmoon,  from  1794  to  1805. 

James  Gordon  of  Ballston,  from  1796  to  1804. 

Adam  Comstock  of  Hadley,  from  1806  to  1809. 

John  Stearns  of  Halfmoon,  from  1810  to  1813.         » 

Samuel  Stewart  of  Halfmoon,  from  1814  to  1817. 

Samuel  Young  of  Ballston,  from  1818  to  1821. 

John  L.  Viele,  Waterford.  in  1822  ;   and  again  in  1826-7  8-9. 

John  Cramer  of  Waterford.  in  1823-4-5. 

Isaac  Gere  of  Galwav,  in  1830-1-2-3. 

Samuel  Young  of  Ballston,  from  1835  to  1840;  and  again  in 
1846-7. 

John  W.  Taylor  of  Ballston  in  1841-2. 

James  M.  Cook  of  Milton,  from  1841  to  1851  ;  and  again  in 
1HG4-5. 


*Resigned  to  enter  the  army,  1862. 
f  Appointed  vice  French  resigned. 
^Elected  State  Superintendent  1874. 

^Appointed  and  then  elected  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  Neil 
Gilmour,  resigned. 

18 


386  APPENDIX. 

George  G.  Scott  of  Milton,  in  1858-9. 

Isaiah  Blood  of  Milton,  in  1860-1 ;  and  again  in  1870*. 

John  Willard  of  Saratoga  Springs,  in  1862*. 

MEMBERS  OF   ASSEMBLY.      (CONSTITUTION   OF   1777.) 

1777-8-9— (Alban}'  county)  James  Gordon,  Ballston. 

1780 — James  Gordon,  Ballston  ;  Jacob  Fart, jr.  Halfm»on  ;  Dirck 
Swart,  Stillwater. 

1781 — Dirck  Swart,  Stillwater ;  Jacob  Fort,  jr.  Halfmoon  ;  Geo. 
Palmer,  Stillwater. 

1782  3— Jacob  Fort,  jr  Halfmoon  ;  Dirck  Swart,  Stillwater. 

1784 — James  Gordon,  Ballston;  Dirck  Ssvart,  Stillwater ;  Jacob 
Fort,  jr.  Halfmoon. 

1785 — Dirck  Swart,  Stillwater;  Jacob  Fort,  jr.  Halfmoon. 

1786— James  Gordon,  Ballston;  Jacobus  Van  Schoonhoven, 
Halfmoon. 

1787-8 — James  Gordon,  Ballston. 

1789 — John  Thompson,  Stillwater. 

1789  90— James  Gordon,  Ballston. 

1791— Jacobus  Van  Schoonhoven,  Halfmoon;  Sidney  Berry, 
Sariitoga. 

1792 — (Saratoga  county)  Sidney  Berry,  Saratoga ;  Elias  Palmer, 
Stillwater;  Andrew  Mitchell,  Ballston;  Benj.  Rosekrans,  Halfmoon. 

1798— Adam  Comstock,  Milton;  John  Ball,  Milton;  Beriah 
Palmer,  Ballston. 

1794— Adam  Comstock,  Greenfield  ;  John  Ball,  Milton  ;  Bc-riah 
Palmer,  Ballston. 

1795— Adam  Comstock,  Greenfield;  John  B.  Schuyler,  Saratoga; 
Beriah  Palmer,  Ballston  ;  Jabez  Davif-,  Cha;rlton. 

1796— Adam  Comstock,  Greenfield  ;  John  McClelland,  Qalway  ; 
E<ias  Palmer,  Stillwater  ;  John  Bleecker,  Stillwater. 

1797— Adam  Comstock,  Greenfield  ;  Samuel  Clark,  Stillwater  ; 
John  Taylor,  Charlton  ;  Seth  C.  Baldwin,  Ballston  ;  John  McClel- 
land, Galway. 

1798— Adam  Comstock,  Greenfield  ;  Seth  C.  Baldwin,  Ballston ; 
Samuel  Clark,  Stillwater;  Aaron  Gregory,  Milton  ;  Douw  I.  Fonda, 
Stillwater. 

1799— Adam  Comstock,  Greenfield ;  Samuel  Clark,  Stillwater; 
Seth  C.  Baldwin,  IJallston  ;  Henry  Corl,jr.  Charlton  ;  Jam«£  War 
ren,  Galway. 

1800— Adam  Comstock,  Greenfield  ;  Samuel  Clark,  Stillwater ; 
Daniel  Bull,  Saratoga;  James  Warren,  Galway  ;  Edward  A.  Wat- 
rous.  Milton. 

1801— Adam  Comstock,  Greenfield  ;  Daniel  Bull,  Saratoga  ;  Hen- 
ry Corl,  jr.  Charlton;  James  Warren,  Galway;  James  Merrill, 
Ballston. 


*Died  in  office. 


APPENDIX.  387 

1803— Adam  Comstock,  Hadley  ;  Samuel  Clark,  Malta  ;  Gideon 
Goodrich,  Milton  ;  Otliuiel  Looker,  Oalvvay. 

1803— Adam  Comstock  Iladley ;  John  Hnnter,  Stillwater;  Sam- 
uel Lewis.  Northumberland;  Othnid  Looker.  Galway. 

1804— Adam    Comstock,    Hailh^v;    Jolin    Hunter.     Stillwater; 
Samuel  Lewis,  Northumberland  ;  Othniel  Looker,  Galway. 

1805— Samuel  Clark.  Malta  ;  Asahel  Porter,  Greenfield  ;  William 
Carpenter,  Providence;  David  Rogers,  iiallston. 

1806— Jesse   Mott,   Saratoga;  Asahel    Porter,  Greenfield;  John 
Cramer,  Halfmoon  ;  John  McClelland.  Galway. 

1S07— Jesse  Mot;,  Saraio;ra  ;  (Gideon  Goodrich,  Milton;  Chaun- 
cev  Belding,  Charlton  ;  David  Rogers,  Ballston. 

1808— Jolin  McClelland,  Galway  ;  Chauncey  Belding,  Charlton  ; 
Salmon  Child,  Greenfield  ;  Jesse  Mott,  Saratoga. 

1809— Salmon  (^hild.  Greenfield  ;  David  Rogers,  Ballston  ;  Nehe- 
miah  Cande.  Galway  ;  Daniel  L.  Van  Antwerp.  Stillwater. 

1810— Samuel  Lewis,  Ncjrlhuraberlaud  ;  Joel  Lee,  Milton  ;  Cal-. 
vin  Wheeler,  Providence;  Daniel  L.  Van  Antwerp   Stillwater  ; 

1811— John   Cramer,  Halfmoon;  Jesse  Mott,  Saratoga  ;    Jeremy 
Rockwell,    Hadley;  David  Rogers.  Ballston. 

1812— John  W.  Taylor,  Hadley;  Joel  Keeler,  Milton  ;  Zebnlon 
Mott,  Halfmoon  ;  Avery  Starkweather,  Galway. 

1813— John  W.  Taylor,  Hadley  ;  John  Prior,  Greenfield  ;  Caleb 
Holmes,  Charlton  ;  Calvin  Wheeler,  Providence. 

1814— Samuel   Young.    Ballston;    Nicholas  W.  Angle,  Milton  ; 
Averv  Starkweather,  GaUvay  ;  John  Dunning,  Malta. 

1815— Samuel  Young,  Ballston  ;  Richard  Ketchimi,  Stillwater  ; 
Howell  Gardner,  Greenfield;  Benjamin  Cowles,  Hadley. 

1816— Asa   C.  Barney,   Greenfield  ;  George   Cramer,  Saratoga  ; 
Isaac  Gere,  Galway  ;  William  Hamilton.  Halfmoon. 

1817 — Harmon  Ganzevoort,  Northumberland  ;  John    Hamilton, 
Edinburgh  ;  Zebnlon  Mott,  Halfmoon  ;  John  Pettit,  Greenfield. 

1818— Elisha   Powell,   Milton;    John    Gibson,    Ballston;    Earl 
Stimson,   Galway;  Staats  Morris,  Stillwater. 

1319_joel  Ketler,  Milton  ;  John  Rogers,  jr.,  Charlton  ;  William 
Hamilton,  Orange  ;  Abner  Carpenter,  Malta. 

1820— Billy  J.' Clark,  Moreau  ;  Elisha  Powell,  Milton  ;  Abraham 
Moe,  Halfmoon  ;  Jonathan  Delano,  jr..  Providence. 

1821— Zebulou  Mott,  Halfmoon  ;  John  Rogers,  jr.  Charlton  ;  Har- 
man  Ganzevoort,  Northumberland  ;  John  House,  Waterford. 

1822— John  Prior,  Greenfield,  John  Gilchrist,  Charlton  ;  Conrad 
Cramer,  Northumberland  ;  Thomas  Cwllamer,  Malta. 

1823— (Constitution  of  1821.)     Valentine  Campbell,  Stillwater; 
Sanuiel  Belding,  Charlton  ;  John  Pettit,  Greenfield. 

1824— Isaac  Gere,  Galway  ;  Jeremy  Rockwell,  Hadley;  James 
McCrea,  Ballston. 

1825— Alpheus  Goodrich,  Milton;   Philip  Schuyler,  Saratoga; 
Nicholas  B.  Doe,  Waterford. 

1826— Samuel  Young,  Ballston  ;  Thomas  Dibble,  Corinth  ;  David 
Benedict,  Stillwater. 


388  A1»PENDIX. 

i '1827 — Howell  Gardner,  GreeDfield  ;  John  Gilchrist,  Charlton  ; 
Nicholas  Emigh,  Jr.,  Halfmoon. 

1838 — Alpheus  Goodrich,  Milton;  Thomas  Ilowland,  Northuui- 
berhiud  fEli  M.  Todd,  Waterfori. 

1829 — Gilbert  Waring,  Saratoga  Springs  ;  Joshua  MandeTille, 
Waterford  ;  Calvin  Wiieeler  Providence. 

18;^0— William  Shepherd*,  Clifton  Park  ;  Seth  Perry,  Wilton  ; 
Samuel  Stewart,  Waterford. 

1831 — Howell  Gardner,  Greenfield  ;  John  Gilchrist,  Charlton  ; 
Oran  G.  Otis,  Mi. ton. 

1832 — Oran  G.  Otis,  Milton;  James Brisbin,  jr.,  Saratoga;  Eben- 
ezer  Couch,  Galway. 

1833 — George  Reynolds,  Moreau ;  Ephraim  Stevens,  Clifiou 
Park  ;  Ebenezer  Couch,  Galway. 

1834— Eli  M.  Todd,  Waterford;  Thomas  J.  Marvin,  Saratoga 
Springs;  Solomon  Ellithorp,  Edinburgh. 

1835 — Asahel  Piiilo,  Halfmoon  ;  William  B.  Van  Benthuiseu, 
Saratoga;  Eli  Bee  cher,  Edinburgh. 

1836— Joel  Lee,  Milton  ;  David  Benedict,  Stillwater ;  Samuel 
Stimson,  Day. 

1837— Seabury  Allien,  Providence;  Halsey  Rogers,  Moreau. 

Ig.gy — Calvin  Wheeler,  Providence;  Walter  Van  Veghten,  Sara- 
toga. 

1839 — Calvin  Wheeler,  Providence;  John   Stewart,  Waterford. 

1840— John  Stewart,  Waterford  ;  David  Stewavt,  Haclley. 

1841_^Vbijah  Peck,  jr.,  Clifton  Park;  Jesse  H.  Mead,  Galway. 

1842 — John  Cramer,  Waterford;  Halsey  Rogers,  Moreau. 

184;^ — Azariah  E.  Slimson,  Galway;  Lyudes  Euiersou,  Wlllon. 

1844 — James  Groom,  Clifton. Park  ;  Ezra  Wilson,  Greenfield. 

1845 — William  Wilcox,  Saratoga;  Edward  Edwards,  Corinth. 

184G— ^ames  M.  Marvin,  Saratoga  Springs  ;  Cbauucey  Boughton, 
Halfmoon. 

1847— Thomas  C.  Morgan,  Waterford;  Jesenh  Daniels,  Green- 
field. 

1848— (Constitution  of  1846)  1st  district,  Cady  Hollister,  Balls- 
ton  ;  2d  district,  George  Payu,  Moreau. 

1849— 1st  district,  RosciusR.  Kennedy,  Clifton  Park;  2d  district, 
William  W.  Rockwell,  Hadley. 

1850 — isi  district,  James  No.xon,  Halfmoon;  2d  district,  Fred- 
erick J.  Wing,  Greenfield. 

1851 — isi  district,  Abraham  Leggett,  Stillwater;  2d  district,  John 
L.'  Perry,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1852— Ibt  district,  Isaiah  Blood,  Miltsn ;  2d  district,  Alexander 
H.  Palmer,  Hadley. 

1853— 1st  district,  Willi. in  Gary,  Halfmoon  ;  2d  district,  Henry 
Holmes,  Saratoga. 

1854— Isl  district,  George  W.   Neilson,  Stillwater ;  2d   district, 

*Oldest  surviving  member  of  assembly  from  Saratoga  county, 
Itoth.in  year>  and  date  of  Bervice. 


APPETTDIX.  389 

Joseph  Bauciis,  N«itlinmberland. 

iy55_lst  district,  Cornelius  Sciuiyler,  Ballsion  ;  3d  district,. John 
Terhuue,  Northumberland. 

lg.j(j — isi  district,  George  G.  Scott,  3Iilton  ;  3d  district,  Josepii 
Bauciis,  Northumberland. 

1857_lsi   district,  Geors?e  G.  Scott,  .Milton  ;  3d  district.  Samuel 
J.  Mott,  Saratoga. 

1858— Ist  district,  Chauncey  Boughton,  Ilallmoon  ;  3d  district 
Tabor  B.  Reynolds,  Wilton. 

1859 — 1st   district.  Chauncey  Boughton,  Halfnioon  ;  3d  district, 
George  S.  Batchelier,  Edinburgh. 

1860-  1st  district,  John  Fulton,  Waterford  ;  3d  district,  Judiah 
Ellsworth,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1861— 1st   district,  John" Fulton,  Waterford  ;  3d  district,  James 
Sumner,  jr.,  Providence. 

1863— 1st  dis'rict,  John  Fulton,  Waterford  ;  3d  district,  Nathan- 
iel M.  Houghton,  Corinih 

1863— 1st    .lisirict,   Ira    Brockett,   Gal  way  ;    3d    district,  N.  M. 
Houtihton,  Corinth. 

18G4— 1st    district,   Ira   Brocket,  Galway;    3d   district  Edward 
Edw.irds,  Corinth. 

1865— 1st   district,   George    W.   Chapman,    Milton  ;  3d    district 
Edward  Edwards,  Corinth 

1866— 1st  district.  Truman  G.  Younglove,  Halfmoon  ;  3d  district, 
Austin  L   Reynolds,  ;\Ioreau 

1867— Isi  distric!,Truinau  G.  Tounglove,  Halfmoon  ;  3d  district, 
Austin  L.  Reynolds,  Moreau. 

18(j8— 1st   district,   Trmunn  G     Youuglove,  Halfmraon  ;  3d  dis- 
trict, Alembert  Pond,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1869— 1st  district.  Truman  G.  Younglove,  Hidfmoon  ;  3d  district 
DeWitt  C.  Hovt.  Greentield. 

1870— 1st   district,  Isaiah  Fuller,  Galway  ;  3d   district,  Seymour 
Ainsworih,  Sarato<;a  Springs. 

1871— Isi  district.  Isaiah  Fuller,  Galway;  3d  district,  Joseph  W. 
Hill.  Saratoira  Springs. 

1873—131  district,  George  West,  Milt.m  ;  3d  district,  N.  M.  Hough- 
ton, Corinth. 

1873— l8t  district,  George  West,   Milton;  3d  district,  George  S. 
Batchelier,  Saratoga  Springs. 

1874— 1st  district,  George  West,  Milton  ;  3d   district,  George  8. 
Batchelier,  Saratoga  Sprinas. 

1875— Ist  district,  George  West,  Milton  ;  3d  district, N.  M  Hough- 
ton, Corinth. 

1876— 1st  district,George  West,  Milton;  3d  district, Isaac  Noyes, 
jr.  Edinburgh. 

Samuel  Younsr  was  speaker  in  1815  and  1836,  and  Truman  G. 
Younglove  was  speaker  in  1869. 


390  APPENDIX. 

BEPRESENTATIVES   IN   CONGRESS  FROM   SARATOGA   COUNTY. 

J:imes  Gordon  of  Ballston,  from  1791  to  1795. 
John  Thompson    of   Stillwater,  from    1799    to   1801 ;  and  again 
from  1807  to  1811. 

Bc^riah  Palmer  of  Ballston,  from  1808  to  1805. 

John  W.  Taylor  of  Ballston,  from  1813  to  1833. 

John  Cr;imcr  of  Watcrford,  from  1833  to  1837. 

An.son  Brown  of  Milton,  from  1839  till  his  death  in  1840. 

Niciiolas  B.  Doe  of  Waterford,  1840-1 

Ciiesselden  Ellis  of  Waterford,  from  1843  to  1845. 

Hu^^h  White  of  Waterford,  fmm  1845  to  1851 

James  B.  McKean  of  Saratofja  Springs,  from  1859  to  1863. 

Jame.s  M.  Marvin  of  Saratoga  Sprinirs,  from  18G3  to  1871. 

Henrv  H.  Hathorn  of  Saratoi^a  Sprins^s,  from  1873  to  1877. 

PRESIDENTIAL   ELECTORS  FROM    SARATOGA    COUNTY. 

1792— Samuel  Clark,  voted  for  Washin^iton. 

1800— Robert  EllLs,  voted  for  Jifferson. 

1804 — Adam  Comstock  and  John  Cramer,  voted  for  Jefi'ersou. 

1812 — George  Palmer,  jr.  voted  for  DeWitt  Clinton. 

1810 — Samuel  Lewis,  voted  for  Monroe. 

1820 — Howell  Gardner,  voted  for  Monroe. 

1824 — Nathan  Thompson,  voted  for  Henry  Clay. 

1828— Salmon  Child,  voted  for  John  Quincy  Adams. 

1836 — Harman  Ganzevooii,  voted  for  Van  Buren. 

1840 — Earl  Stimson,  voted  for  Harrison. 

1848 — Samuel  Freeman,  voted  for  Taylor. 

1856 — John'C.  Hulbert,  voted  for  Fremont. 

STATE   OFFICERS   RESIDING   IN   SARATOGA   COUNTY. 

Reuben  H.  Walworth,  Chancellor,  1828  to  1847. 

Esek  Cowen,  Judge  of  Supreme  Court,  1836  to  1844. 

John  Willard,  Justice  of  Supreme  Court   from  1847  to  1853 

AuLnistus  Bo'-kcs,  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  1855,  and  again 
from  1860  to  the  present  time. 

Samuel  Young,  Secretary  of  State.  1843-5. 

James  M.  Cook,  Comptroller,  1854  6. 

James  M.  (Jook,  Treasur<!r,  1S52. 

Samuel  Young,  Canal  C(tmmissioiier,  1816  to  1842 

George  W.  Chapman,  Canal  Commissioner,  1870  2. 

James  M.  Cook,  Sui>eriiiteridi  nt  ot  the  Banking  De[)artment, 
1856  62. 

Samuel  Yoiuig,  ex  officio  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools, 
1842-5. 

Neil  Gilmour,  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  1874 . 


.    APPENDIX.  391 

UNITED  ST ATE^ OFFICERS  NOW  RESIDING   IN   SARATOGA  COUNTY. 

Nathaniel  B.  Sylvester,  Commissioner,  Saratoga  Springs. 
Elias  H.  Peters,  Register  in  Bankruptcy,  Saratoga  Springs. 
Norman  S.  May,  Deputy  Marshal.  Saratoga  Springs. 

DATE  OF  ERECTIOV  OF  TOWNS. 

Ballston,  as  Ball's  Town,  a  district  of  Albany  county,  April  1, 
1775  ;  as  a  town,  March  7,  1788.  Charlton  in  1792.  Clifton  Park, 
as  Clifton,  in  1828,  and  changed  io  its  present  name  the  next  year. 
Corinth  in  1818.  Day,  as  Concard,  in  1819,  and  changed  to  its 
present  name  in  1830.  Edinbureh,  as  Northfield,  in  1801  ;  name 
changed  in  1808.  Giilway  (originally  Qallow^iy,  frem.the  shire 
in  Scotland,  and  Hibernicized  by  an  error  in  the  legislature 
made  by  an  Emerald  islander  clerk)  in  1792.  Greenfield  in  1793. 
Hadley  in  1801.  Half  Moon,  as  a  district  of  Albany  county,  March 
24  1772,  and  as  a  town,  March  7, 1788  ;  changed  to  Orange  in  1810, 
and  returned  to  Halfmoon  in  1820.  Malta  in  1802.  Milton  m 
1792.  Moreau  in  1805.  Northumberland  in  1798.  Providence^m 
1796.  Saratoga,  as  a  district  of  Albanv  county,  March  24,  1773, 
and  as  a  town,  March  7,  1788.  Saratoga  Springs  in^l819.  Still- 
water, March  7, 1788.    Waterford  in  1816.     Wilton  in  1818. 


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